


how we built this

by parayeet



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bottom Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung, Dirty Talk, Dom/sub Undertones, Humiliation, Jealousy, M/M, Slow Burn, Slut Shaming, Smut, business partners to lovers, the porn is mostly johndo fwb tho, theres a LOT of johndo before jaedo endgame
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:01:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25613992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parayeet/pseuds/parayeet
Summary: “Honestly, Doyoung, I really think you two would look good together,” Taeyong says.Doyoung sighs. He likes Taeyong, he really does, but this line of conversation was worn out like a ratty sweater, dull and colorless. There was no point in even considering; Doyoung didn't understand Taeyong's persistence."That doesn't matter if we're business partners," Doyoung explains, yet again. "Dating Jaehyun would be the equivalent of setting our company on fire."---aka entrepreneurship au where dojae are co-founders that disrupt the bedsheets industry (in more ways than one)
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 172
Kudos: 325





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i was gonna take a break from fic but then i was listening to the how i built this podcast with guy raz, the brooklinen episode. i was like... hm i kind of want to write about the startup world but i was also horny so here
> 
> the plot line is based on a true story but then i made it dojae sorry :))))

"Aren't you gonna go gambling?"

"No," Doyoung hisses into the phone. "I'm _rational,_ Taeyong."

"What's the point of being in Vegas then?"

"We're here to visit his family." Doyoung rolls his eyes, then adjusts the car seat, so he can lean back. Maybe even take a nap in this parking lot. He checks the review mirror—and, yeah, those are eyebags—then glares out at the chain of fast food restaurants. Why the fuck was he taking so long? "It's supposed to be a quick stop, maybe get some dinner, and then drive straight to college after."

"Already meeting the parents?"

"Stop insinuating things." Doyoung rolls his eyes. "You sound like Jeno."

"Maybe he's right," Taeyong says, quieter this time. "Honestly, Doyoung—I really think you two would look good together."

Doyoung sighs. He likes Taeyong, he really does, but this line of conversation was worn out like a ratty sweater, dull and colorless. There was no point in even considering; Doyoung didn't understand Taeyong's persistence.

"That doesn't matter if we're _business partners,"_ Doyoung explains, yet again. "Dating him would be the equivalent of setting our company on fire."

"Technically you don't have a company yet," Taeyong points out.

" _Yet,_ " Doyoung emphasizes. "The moment we generate our idea, it's full-speed ahead from then on—Wait, I got to go now."

Doyoung ends the call hurriedly and scowls at Jaehyun opening the car door.

"What were you even doing? That was too long for a bathroom break."

"Cocaine," Jaehyun deadpans, settling into the driver seat. Then, with a twist of his wrist, the old engine sputters to life, and they're back on the road.

\---

As expected, Jaehyun's family was exactly like him: sweet and welcoming. At the end of the dinner, Jaehyun asks if they could be late to the first day back at school, if they could stay a little longer. It was so unfair—Jaehyun was _glowing,_ from laughter and familial warmth; he was playing Connect Four with his younger nephews and he high-fived them every time they won. All of them smiled so roundly, the apples of their cheeks going pink.

How was Doyoung supposed to refuse?

He ended up sleeping at the floor of Jaehyun's room while Jaehyun slept on his own bed. A bit cold without the heating, the mild chill of a Nevada winter seeping in through the walls.

It was nearing midnight, but Doyoung twisted around in his sleeping bag, uncomfortable—he always had difficulty sleeping in unfamiliar places. The darkness and silence of the night-time worsened matters, for the pressure began to settle in… Over the winter break, Doyoung had considered taking a break from college.

He was disillusioned, in a way, because he could _see_ that he was heading down the conventional path—a consulting firm, like his mom; marrying at twenty-six, like his mom. Doyoung could _see_ the straight road ahead of him and it was so predictable it frightened him. Most would be comforted by the stability but to Doyoung, stability was synonymous with mediocrity. Perhaps that is why he held so resolutely to this dream of entrepreneurship, of actually _being someone_ and capturing the world's attention.

After an hour of frustrating insomnia, Doyoung gets up and tip-toes out of Jaehyun's room. He exits the front door, careful to close it behind him softly, lest he wake the rest of the family. He takes an Uber to the nearest gay bar: a real hole in side of the road, but it _was_ above four stars on Yelp, so maybe it wouldn't be too bad.

As expected, the diversity in that Las Vegas bar was nothing to write home about… Perhaps it was a bias of its own, but Doyoung was suspicious of white men and their intentions. His past experience suggested that quite a few fetishized him, and he wasn't interested in satisfying those kinds of fantasies.

The first man who approached him was Asian, though—even Korean, he learned, when they chatted a bit. Johnny bought him another drink and he was the confident kind of charming, unlike Jaehyun who was softer, shyer.

Doyoung leaned in and asked if Johnny wanted to get out of there, then Johnny drove him to his hotel—he wasn't a Las Vegas native either, apparently.

Johnny liked man-handling Doyoung, it seemed; he was more-or-less carried to the bed, legs tightly wrapped around Johnny's thighs. The sheets were so soft to touch, both cool and comfortable.

Doyoung looked up at Johnny standing before him, his face flushed and open. Johnny looked nearly bronze under the yellow light. While carried, Doyoung had messily unbuttoned the top of his Hawaiian shirt, and he was delighted to find that Johnny was built like one of those Greek statues, this near-idealized version of a man—almost hairless with hard muscle, like Jaehyun. Doyoung felt incredibly small beneath his towering body and the vulnerability excited him.

Johnny climbed on top of him and he was undressed, surprisingly gently—so it was going to be like _that_ , he realized, when Johnny sucked at his clavicle and ran his fingers down Doyoung's bare chest, touch feather-light.

"You can be rougher, you know," Doyoung said. "Not that I don't appreciate it but—yeah."

Johnny's gaze darkened.

"I get it." Johnny pried Doyoung's legs apart forcibly and Doyoung whined, high and reedy. "You're a whore, aren't you, baby?"

" _Yes,_ " Doyoung hissed and was rewarded with Johnny tapping at his hole. "I feel so empty _,_ please, please, please—"

Johnny slapped his ass harshly and Doyoung bucked up off the bed, eyes rolling back. It stung, just a bit, but the pleasure rapidly eclipsed the pain. Johnny then grabbed and kneaded his ass—his hands were so big—and Doyoung flushed all over, excited by the fact that Johnny was so much stronger than him. The excitement strengthened into a heady rush when Doyoung realized that Johnny was still mostly clothed—only his shirt was unbuttoned—while Doyoung was utterly naked; he basked in the humiliation.

"F-fingers," he stuttered out and Johnny, purposefully misunderstanding, pushed his fingers deep into Doyoung's mouth, hitting the back of his throat. Doyoung gargled around the sudden intrusion, slobbering on Johnny's hand. The force pressed him back into the unbelievably soft sheets.

"Isn't this what you wanted?" Johnny cooed. "Someone to fill up your slutty mouth?" Doyoung whined again, but the sound stuttered out of him as a broken shriek.

His hole fluttered—god, he was so _empty_ —and he wiggled his ass a bit, trying to look as enticing as possible.

" _Please,_ " he whimpered again, tongue lolling out around Johnny's fingers. "I need you, Johnny, it hurts." Johnny took pity on him, pulling his fingers out from Doyoung's lips—there was a string of drool connecting Johnny's hand to his mouth, and Doyoung shivered at the sight. Then Johnny laid his palms around the tiny expanse of his waist and flipped Doyoung over roughly.

"Good boy," Johnny whispered, pleased, when Doyoung naturally pushed his ass into the air, presenting his empty hole. His hands grasped at the sheets, which were _really fucking soft_ , like he noted before—

"Oh my god." Doyoung scrambled off the bed, still naked, and hurried to his phone left on the armchair. _I'm sorry_ , he mouthed to Johnny, who was looking very frazzled, left high and dry in a tousled state when Jaehyun picked up.

"Bro, it's three in the morning." Jaehyun's voice was low and rough from sleep. "Where are you?"

"Search up…" Doyoung looked over at Johnny. "What's your hotel's name again?" Johnny said the name slowly, frowning a bit, and Doyoung repeated it into the phone. "Search in the forums if you can find where they got the sheets from."

"…Who's with you," Jaehyun said, warily.

"A hook-up," Doyoung dismissed. "But remember when we were brainstorming which industries we wanted to disrupt? Like Warby Parker, when they halved the price of glasses by using a direct factory-to-consumer model, no complicated supply chain." Doyoung's really excited now, pulling his pants back up as he jabbers into his phone tucked between his face and shoulder. "You said we should try bedsheets! Along with other stuff but—like, we didn't know where to start back then, but we finally have a lead! These bedsheets are so unbelievably soft, Jaehyun—get over here, you'll get it."

"A hook-up," Jaehyun repeats dully then hangs up immediately. Doyoung frowns at his phone, mid-way through buttoning up his shirt again. Shouldn't Jaehyun be exhilarated?

Someone taps at his shoulder and Doyoung looks up. Johnny looks put-together again and his expression is stormy. Doyoung's shoes dangle from his hand.

"You didn't tell me you already had a man in your life," Johnny said, throwing Doyoung's shoes out into the hotel hallway.

 _I don't,_ Doyoung is about to protest, but Johnny pushes him out too and the door closes behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading, kudos-ing, and commenting!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone! the comments everyone left were so sweet aaaaaaaaa and seeing that yall were excited by my premise made ME excited by my premise, so here's the next chapter on the same day ahahahaha

Jaehyun shows up at the hotel after all.

Doyoung's waiting in the lobby, scrolling through Instagram on his phone and lounging around the couch. He straightens up when Jaehyun enters through the golden sliding doors.

"You have a lot of thirst traps on Instagram," Doyoung observes. "Are you running out of shirts? I could let you borrow some of mine."

"The audience likes it," Jaehyun says, gruffly, then sighs. "Where's your hook-up?"

"He got mad at me for some reason. Probably because I ran over to my phone in the middle of sex to record a business idea."

Jaehyun stares at him for a moment, unblinkingly, then starts laughing, his eyes squinting into crescents. "You would do that, Doyoung," he says, warmly, and Doyoung flushes for some reason, taken off guard by the softness of Jaehyun's expression.

"I checked with the hotel." Doyoung avoids his Jaehyun's gentle gaze, jerking his head toward the store. "The bedsheets retail for $800."

"That's… a lot."

"Too much," Doyoung agrees. "We'll try to replicate the product but sell it for a lower cost online. We want it inexpensive, high-quality, and easily accessible. There's a lot of research to do."

"I did some reading on the forums," Jaehyun said. "And guess what? There are a bunch of people who are also trying to figure out who produced these sheets. No one knows though."

"They are ridiculously soft," Doyoung says, then grabs at Jaehyun's hand, leading him to the hotel store. His palms are surprisingly cold to the touch. Doyoung frowns, then rubs Jaehyun's hands between his own, attempting to warm them. "What?" Doyoung snaps at Jaehyun's inquisitive stare. "I can't let my co-founder freeze to death."

"Nothing," Jaehyun says quickly, then looks at the sheets. "They look… normal."

"Feel them, dumbass," Doyoung says, rolling his eyes. Jaehyun reaches out to run his fingers over the sheets and his eyes widen. Then he laughs lightly.

"I was so confused why you were freaking out about these sheets," Jaehyun admits. "Like, I was just… aren't all sheets just _sheets_? But they are really soft!"

"Exactly."

"Let's have breakfast at home," Jaehyun says. "And then we can start researching when we arrive on campus?"

"I won't miss class," Doyoung insists. "I have econ at one."

Jaehyun and Doyoung argue over whether formal education is necessary or not on the walk to the car, but eventually Jaehyun concedes and they agree on doing the research in the evening, after dinner—and Doyoung is practically vibrating with excitement in the passenger's seat, while Jaehyun drives them back to the family house.

Doyoung feels like he's at the beginning of something, something big. He's had passion projects before, but this one is different—as ridiculous as it sounds, bedsheets are a project with a _future._ It is the timeline that excites him, as did the potential. Starting a company isn't just a month-long journey—it can extend far beyond that, into an actual career _._

As he has done many times before, Doyoung considers what it would be like to work for himself, instead of for some faceless boss rungs above him on the corporate ladder. Doyoung has always been incredibly independent and wouldn't it be freeing to run on his own time instead of someone else's? To have the liberty to brainstorm, to come up with his own original ideas and _implement them_ on a company that he could call his own… it would be a far cry from the competitive, cut-throat world of consulting, that's for sure. He wouldn't have to fixate on the climbing, for once in his life. Rather, he could pursue _impact._

Jaehyun and him were a good team too, he thought, smiling to himself. He sneaked a glance over to Jaehyun—who was driving, his eyes fixed on the road. Jaehyun had a bedhead, a stark contrast from Doyoung's meticulously arranged bangs.

Even in their hairstyles, Doyoung could see how they balanced each other out. Jaehyun was the softer one who smoothed out Doyoung's intensity. Meanwhile, Jaehyun was more passive but Doyoung knew how to _push._

Doyoung understood why Taeyong and Jeno thought they would look good together. But, for the same reason, Doyoung didn't want to ruin possibly the best professional relationship he'll ever come across for something as messy as romance.

At the end, it was just irrational—and Doyoung was many things, but he was _never_ irrational.

\---

At breakfast, Doyoung finally met Jaehyun's mother for the first time—she was on a work trip yesterday, and just arrived at the house during that morning.

Meeting Jaehyun's family the day before gave Doyoung a deeper glimpse into Jaehyun. His father and aunt were so friendly and impossibly kind. Doyoung accrued a new kind of protectiveness over his co-founder. It was clear that his family never let the cruelty of the world hurt him. How else could Jaehyun be so genuine? Every emotion of his rose to the surface, washing over his face like tides tumbling through the sea. His purity was startling in Doyoung's cynical world; he couldn't imagine being someone whose first instinct was to trust. And Doyoung intended to keep it that way, to help preserve what made Jaehyun so unique.

Mrs. Jung, on the other hand—Doyoung was gifted an insight to the _other side_ of Jaehyun, the side that Doyoung could resonate with.

"You're Doyoung," she said, and it was not a question. She scrutinized him carefully, eyes hard yet bright. Doyoung nodded in confirmation, while Jaehyun shifted uncomfortably.

"You don't have to do this, Mom," he muttered.

"I'm just looking out for you," Mrs. Jung said. "Why should my baby settle for anything other than the best?" And there it was—The Jung ambition. While carefully hidden beneath Jaehyun's prince-like act, there was a drive in him that glowed with red-hot brilliance. "And Doyoung is—well, Doyoung seems _okay_."

"I'm not settling with Doyoung," Jaehyun hissed and then excused them both from the kitchen table, his eggs left uneaten.

Out in the hallway, he apologized for his mother's behavior, though Doyoung wasn't offended—then Jaehyun became even more flustered when he realized that Doyoung was actually very calm and seemed more intrigued by his mom rather than affronted.

Doyoung took pity on him—his ears were very red and cute—and softly suggested that they could leave now, if Jaehyun wanted to. Jaehyun looked back to the kitchen, nervous, and then hurriedly agreed.

Mrs. Jung insisted on walking them out to the front porch, but didn't make any further comments. She waved from the doorway, long black hair flowing behind her like a banshee. Her skin was so white, so white it was almost pink.

There was something haunting about the image she made, Doyoung noted, as Jaehyun pulled out of the driveway and turned toward Los Angeles. A bad omen, a warning of storms to come.

\---

"How was the honeymoon?" Doyoung ignored Taeyong, taking out his laptop and focusing on the lecture. "Come on," Taeyong whispered. "You all went to Vegas and nothing happened? You went on a road trip, _just the two of you,_ and nothing happened?"

"Plenty of stuff happened," Doyoung said. "He drove to Tucson, I showed him around my city, then we went to the Phoenix Art Museum—"

"I can't believe nothing happened," Taeyong interrupted. "Five days together and nothing!"

"I came up with a _ground-breaking_ business idea," Doyoung said, affronted. "That's not nothing."

"So, I'll still have to deal with you guys' UST during ICC," he said. ICC was the International Consulting Club at USC and regretfully, Doyoung, Jaehyun, and Taeyong were part of the same team. "Can't wait," he continued drily.

"We don't have UST," Doyoung protested. What the hell was Taeyong going on about? "I am incredibly professional."

"Maybe you are, but Jaehyun sure isn't."

" _Jaehyun?"_ Doyoung bursts out laughing, then hides behind his laptop when the row in front stares at them. "Jaehyun wouldn't be interested in me," he hissed. "You don't have to worry about Jaehyun."

"You're implying that I have to worry about _you_ though," Taeyong whispered back, face smug, but then he frowns. "What do you mean Jaehyun wouldn't be interested in you?"

"It doesn't matter because we're co-founders anyway—"

"Doyoung?" The professor intoned from the front of the lecture hall. "Anything you want to share with the class?"

"No," Doyoung stuttered. "I'm sorry." He sinks a bit in his seat. Satisfied, the professor turns back to the slideshow.

Doyoung ignored Taeyong for the rest of the class.

\---

"The thread count is all fucked up," Doyoung said, stumbling into Jaehyun's room unannounced. Jaehyun was at his desk, reading through the textbook alongside his roommate—Doyoung must've interrupted a study session—but he smiled at Doyoung indulgently.

"It's four, Doyoung," he pointed out, not unkindly. "Weren't we going to talk after dinner?"

"I got started on the research early," Doyoung said, about to plop down on Jaehyun's bed—but then he glanced at Jaehyun's roommate hesitantly. "Sorry, I don't want to impose."

Jaehyun and his roommate—Mingyu, Doyoung recalled—looked at one another and appeared to have a silent conversation with their eyes. Doyoung isn't above petty jealousy, pouting a bit at being left out.

"You're not imposing," Mingyu said smoothly, gathering up his books. "I have a club meeting to get to, anyway." He left quickly. Jaehyun moved to the bed, patting the spot next to him, and Doyoung sat down.

"What were you saying about thread count?"

" _Apparently,"_ Doyoung said. "A higher thread count doesn't guarantee higher quality. It was just a lie sold for marketing purposes, or something. Like, it just _sounds_ more luxurious, but it's not more luxurious in practice."

Doyoung flipped to a page in the book on textiles he borrowed from the library, pointing at the highlighted text. Jaehyun reads through the paragraph quickly.

"That's a good start," Jaehyun said, his face lighting up into a smile, then he shook his head. "God, you're such a nerd, Doyoung."

"Whatever." Doyoung frowned. "Anyway, I skimmed through some of this, and I think the best next step is to start conducting interviews on potential buyers. We need to figure out how to distinguish our product from the thousands of other bedsheet brands out on the market."

"Makes sense. But I think you should rest and I can come up with the questions, okay?"

"Wait, but I already got started on that—"

"Of course you did." Jaehyun shook his head again. "Just send me what you have so far and I'll continue where you left off."

"But—"

"Doyoung, you have really bad eyebags. Just this once, you don't have to be a control freak, I can take care of it."

Doyoung frowned again at the phrase _control freak._ Then, he rolled into Jaehyun's bed.

"I'm going to take a nap here," he announced, wrapping himself in the blanket. "I'll trust you this time.” He kicked out as Jaehyun, effectively shooing him away from his own bed. Jaehyun obediently turned off the lights but, even in the darkness, the fondness on Jaehyun's face was apparent.

Doyoung nuzzled deeper into the pillow and let sleep claim him.

\---

"We're going to go in pairs," Doyoung instructs. "Renjun with Mark, Haechan and Taeyong, Kun and Jaemin, Taeil and Yangyang. And I'll be with Jaehyun, obviously. We'd like fifty interviews per pair. Each pair is hitting a different department store, and let’s meet back here in two hours.

“You won't need the fifty by that time—we're conducting interviews for the next four days too. We have both paper forms and online forms with the questions.

"Try to specifically target the customers who are in the bedsheets aisle. Emphasize that this is a _student-run project_ and they'll be more likely to help. If you forget, everything I just said is in the email I sent yesterday. Any questions?"

Yangyang's hand shoots up lightning-fast. Doyoung arches his eyebrow and calls on him warily.

"Are we getting paid?"

"Well, technically—it's a bit complicated, actually—" Jaehyun starts, looking sheepish, but Doyoung cuts him off immediately.

"If you read the sign-up email," Doyoung says. "You would know that you are getting paid sixty dollars each. Which, in terms of the hourly rate, admittedly isn't that much." Doyoung shrugs. "But it's better than no money. Also, it might be fun. You can get to know each other, whatever."

"I already know Mark," Renjun points out.

"We all know each other," Haechan agrees.

"Great!" Doyoung enthuses, fake-brightly. "You'll get to know each other _better._ " Then he sighs. "We can have a big banquet after the whole thing too," he concedes, grudgingly. "Send me whatever dish you want, and I'll cook it for you, as long as the cafeteria has the ingredients."

"You can put it on your resume too," Jaehyun offers. "If we end up succeeding, like becoming a real and profitable business, it'll look good."

"And we _will_ succeed," Doyoung emphasizes, glaring at all of them as if daring them to challenge him. They don't, though Haechan and Renjun are snickering together. Doyoung lets it slide, just this once; he is already a bit tired from a long night of reading about the textile industry.

"Okay, three, two, one, let's go, etcetera," Doyoung intones, then waves them off.

\---

As expected, people at Bed Bath & Beyond didn't seem too excited to answer their questions at first, but Jaehyun's dimples were incredibly powerful.

"It's not _fair,_ " Doyoung complained. "It's practically a form of mind control."

Jaehyun just laughed at that.

They knock out ten interviews within the first half hour, and Doyoung is feeling surprisingly optimistic. He didn't expect it to be so easy. He shoots a glance at Jaehyun's dimples. _Thank you for your service,_ he thinks, privately.

An hour in, Doyoung spots a _very familiar face._

"Jaehyun?" He says, never taking his eyes off Johnny's back. "I have something to take care of."

"What?" Jaehyun responds, but Doyoung is already making a beeline toward the candles.

The blue work shirt is incredibly ugly, Doyoung observes, but it looks nice stretched across Johnny's broad shoulders. Johnny must've sensed that someone was approaching him because he swivels around. Then, almost comically, his eyes widen and face pales when his eyes meet Doyoung's.

Johnny was trying to leave the aisle and Doyoung couldn't have that now, could he? Doyoung sidles up beside him, sticking his arm out across the exit, and leans against the shelf.

"Hi Johnny," Doyoung says. "It's nice to see you again."

"D-Doyoung," he chokes out, nervously. "What are you doing here?"

"I go to USC—wait, what are _you_ doing here? Didn't you say you were from Chicago?"

"Yeah, but I go to UCLA. This is my part-time job." Then, Johnny's expression hardened. "Doyoung, what game are you playing?" Which, _rude._ Doyoung put his palms up defensively.

"I get that last time things ended badly…" Doyoung tugs on Johnny's shirt collar and feels pleased when Johnny's throat noticeably hitches, his face leaning down, the two of them so close all of a sudden. "But we were so _compatible,_ Johnny."

Johnny briefly seems persuaded, but then he sighs, prying Doyoung's hand off his collar. With a scowl, he backs away from Doyoung.

"What about the person that you called?" Johnny frowned. "I'm not going to be a homewrecker, Doyoung, no matter how hot you are."

"You think I'm that hot?" Doyoung grins with all his teeth before tilting his head, confused. "But Jaehyun's not my boyfriend. He's my business partner, actually."

"Really?" Johnny looks unsure, then glances behind Doyoung. Doyoung turns around and—wow, Jaehyun was _glaring._ Doyoung rolls his eyes. Jaehyun always called him uptight, yet Jaehyun was the one upset when Doyoung spent, what? Five minutes to flirt with an employee instead of conducting interviews?

"Ignore him," Doyoung says, placing his palm on Johnny's cheek and softly guiding his head to face Doyoung again. Doyoung stood up on his tip-toes to peck his cheek; Johnny flushed a bit before, emboldened, he thumbs at Doyoung's bottom lip, gently nudging the finger into Doyoung's mouth.

Doyoung's eyelashes flutter as he sucked _hard_ at the tip of his thumb, tongue swirling around the finger, then whimpers at the loss when Johnny's thumb returns to his chin.

"Cute," Johnny says under his breath, almost absent-mindedly, before realizing that they were _in the middle of a store aisle_ with a start—he backs away, again, but there's a relaxed light in his eyes. He's smiling and there's that easy confidence again, like back in the bar. It's what attracted Doyoung to Johnny in the first place.

Johnny takes out his phone and Doyoung eagerly takes it, putting his contact information in.

"I'm very stressed these days," Doyoung says, sternly. "Text me as soon as possible." Johnny laughs and sends him off with a wave.

Grinning, Doyoung leaves to return to Jaehyun's side—but his mood sours when Jaehyun is still scowling, now at Johnny's back.

"You flirt with people _all the time,_ " Doyoung says, annoyed. "You can't be mad at me for that."

"We're working, Doyoung, not hanging out at a bar _,_ " Jaehyun argues. "It's different."

"I couldn't let Johnny run away from me a second time. It's a unique set of circumstances."

"A second time?"

"Yeah, he was that hook-up back in Vegas? It's kind of funny. In a way, he's kind of the muse for our company. It was his hotel room, I mean—with the sheets. You ought to be grateful toward him."

"Just get two more interviews down," Jaehyun says, shaking his head. It's clear that the conversation is over. "We're almost at twenty."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if it's confusing: doyoung, jaehyun, taeyong, etc. all go to usc in los angelos. only johnny goes to ucla. i do not go to either of those schools, so the info may be inaccurate idk
> 
> the next chapter will come out... like next wed??
> 
> thank u so much for reading! as always, i love comments 🥺🥺🥺 writing is a lonely process tbh so i am so grateful for ur support!!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i said i was gonna update on wed but then i just... wrote it all haha i was bored and didnt want to sleep. it's the longest chapter yet so yay!! i hope u enjoy :)

The interviews went smoother than Doyoung expected; in the end, they wrapped all two-hundred-and-fifty by the third day. Doyoung wanted to push for the fourth day anyway. More data meant more analysis, and that was Doyoung's favorite part of entrepreneurship: all those nice numbers.

Jaehyun urged him back though, as Renjun definitely wouldn't take too kindly to being ordered around for an extra day.

The distribution of interviews was telling, that's for sure. The Jaehyun-Doyoung duo compiled over a third of them, a combination of Doyoung's assertiveness and Jaehyun's appearance. On the other hand, Taeil and Yangyang lagged behind—after six hours, they only managed to pull in nine.

When creating the pairs, Doyoung wanted to balance out the more _easily-distracted_ students with those more disciplined, as with Taeyong and Haechan, for instance. That said, Taeil's older age—he was a grad student, even—meant nothing, and he was easily swept up by Yangyang's flights of fancy.

Doyoung was contemplating whether the cash should be distributed _proportionately_ , with Yangyang and Taeil receiving the shorter end of the stick. He believed in equity!

Jaehyun held him back from doing that too.

"Are you really going to cook them all that food?" Jaehyun asked from his position on the bed, scrolling through his phone, his feet kicked up the wall.

Doyoung grumbled beside him, sitting up with his legs dangling. Jaehyun's dorm became their makeshift headquarters in a way, because Doyoung's roommate, Ten, wouldn't stop flirting with Jaehyun. At least Mingyu left them alone—in fact, every time Doyoung showed up, Mingyu would immediately leave for a club meeting.

"I already sent out a form for everyone's availability to schedule the banquet," Doyoung said. "A promise is a promise."

"I can help you with the cooking."

"Sure." Doyoung shrugged. "Johnny will be there too, by the way."

"Johnny?"

"Yeah, he offered to help too. We've been texting, actually."

"…Is he your boyfriend now?"

"Johnny?" Doyoung laughed. "No, I doubt he's into me like that. Not romantically."

"He seems pretty interested."

"Yeah, but he doesn't know me. Not really." _If he did, he wouldn't want to stick around,_ Doyoung thought privately. "What's your problem with him, anyway?"

"I don't have a problem," Jaehyun insisted. "I think he's cool."

"You definitely do have a problem. Whenever you see him, your face always scrunches up like this." Doyoung mimicked the expression, though Jaehyun was facing the wall and couldn't see him.

Jaehyun didn't respond for a while and Doyoung was startled by how awkward the silence is.

"Doyoung, I—"

"Is it because he goes to UCLA?" Doyoung said. "Like, because they're our rival or whatever."

"Yeah," Jaehyun agreed, too quickly. "I just don't trust them."

"That's so _petty._ " Doyoung laughed. "Johnny's super chill. You'll get it when you meet him. Plus, he has a nice chest."

"I didn't need to know that." Jaehyun moved so that he was looking over Doyoung's shoulder at his laptop. "Wow, that's a lot of graphs."

"Yeah, I took the averages for our quantitative questions." Doyoung pulled up another tab in the spreadsheet. "The written responses are way more interesting though. I think there are two key take-aways."

" _Take advantage of branding_ ," Jaehyun reads out loud.

"When most people are shopping for bedsheets, they're not looking for any brand in particular. But America is super brand-obsessed, right? Yet no one knows any bedsheet companies. So, I thought it'd be interesting if we could, like, turn our product into a promise of the person you can become. And have that sort of clear association with our name."

"Kind of like what they do with fashion."

"Or even dog treats," Doyoung added. "There's a lot of nature in certain commercials because they're trying to emphasize how _organic_ they are compared to their competitors."

"And all of the mascots for cereal brands." Jaehyun pointed at the next line in the cell. "What's the second thing?"

"Advertising," Doyoung said. "We'll advertise differently. Most bedsheet companies target middle-aged women, but there's plenty of young men that need new sheets too, when they're graduating college and furnishing a new apartment."

"So, we'll try to appeal to more demographics. What would that even look like?"

"I think it'd just mean having both men and women in the photos on our website? _Young_ men and women. More contemporary font, I don't know."

"More modern patterning too. Like, just plain white or basic stripes, grids, so on. None of that colorful paisley. And the _rooms_ with the beds would feel more modern."

"White brick, cute plants, black-and-white abstract art," Doyoung agreed. "This goes hand-in-hand with the branding too. We'd be saying _this is what your room would look like!_ A young professional's room. This is the kind of space that you'll have, if you buy our bedsheets."

"To add onto that," Jaehyun said. "I think there can be a third key take-away: customization."

"What do you mean?"

"Lots of companies are trying to give consumers more ownership over their purchases," Jaehyun explained. "Like giving them an _experience,_ not just a product. I remember, when I was buying a suit, it was super cool to get it tailored for me."

"At the same time, consumers can be paralyzed by choice. That's why those subscription boxes became so popular once upon a time. There were too many choices to be made when buying makeup, for example. When I was just getting started with makeup, I didn't know what eyeliner brand to buy, there were just so many. I never bought a subscription box, but I got the appeal—an expert would choose the products for you, so you didn't need to think too much. It was easy."

"We'll have to strike a balance between creating an _experience_ for our customers, while also not intimidating them with a too-large selection," Jaehyun summarized.

"Wait, I'll write that down," Doyoung said, then tapped away on his keyboard. Afterward, he turned his laptop a little, so that Jaehyun could see the Word doc:

**Interview Take-Aways**

  1. Although Americans are obsessed with brands, there are no brands in the sheets industry, so there's potential there



  1. The advertising targets older women, leaving other important demographics, like young men, out of the equation



  1. Sheet-buying should be an enjoyable experience—think customization, but without a too-large selection (choice paralysis).



Jaehyun was really close, his lips inches from Doyoung's cheek. Out of the corner of his eye, Doyoung could see his lips move, quickly, as Jaehyun mouthed along while reading.

Afterward, they exchanged smiles, giddy smiles.

"I'll start calling factories," Doyoung said. "To see if we can get samples made."

"It's really happening," Jaehyun said, voice quiet out of awe.

His face was a bit flushed. His eyes were wide, too, and it was pleasant to look at, Doyoung thought—his eyes, wide and glimmering. Jaehyun was worrying his bottom lip, perhaps to keep his tiny pleased smile from spreading too wide.

Doyoung didn't need a mirror to know that he looked the same.

\---

The next day, they began calling factories.

Well, Jaehyun called while Doyoung watched, leg bouncing nervously, from his spot atop Jaehyun's desk. Doyoung was the one calling at first, but then he snapped at one of the factory owners out of impatience, so Jaehyun took over from there.

They were having a hard time looking for factories to produce samples of their bedsheets: low thread-count and comfortable white cotton.

From the beginning, they knew that producing the sheets in the US wouldn't be economically-feasible, so they looked overseas for a better price but with the same fair conditions for workers. Then, they read up on international trade agreements to ensure that importing the goods would come with a low tariff. Although China was a good trade partner with the United States (at the time), the factories there only dealt in bulk orders, like _thousands_ of bedsheets. However, Doyoung and Jaehyun were looking to maybe order a dozen or so to first test out the quality, then see if the market was interested enough to produce many more.

Doyoung didn't want be completely left out from these talks so he stayed in the room. He watched Jaehyun, clicking his tongue whenever Jaehyun stuttered, and Jaehyun would glare at him in return, momentarily distracted.

"Doyoung, could you possibly _shut up?_ " Jaehyun asked after nearly an hour of this. "Or if you can't, just leave."

Doyoung was impressed for a second, even proud that Jaehyun put his foot down. Then, he realized that Jaehyun was putting his foot down _against Doyoung._ He frowned slightly and was about to argue back but then slinked away instead.

Thankfully, before he could return to his room and have to talk to _Ten,_ god forbid, Johnny texted him, asking to meet up. Doyoung perked up and took the bus to UCLA's campus, then walked over to Johnny's apartment.

Johnny had texted him that his roommate was out too, so Doyoung took that as a go-ahead to grab Johnny by the front of his shirt and kiss him deeply when he opened the door.

Johnny was taken aback at first, his lips not moving, but eventually he relaxed, pulling Doyoung into the apartment and blindly closing the door behind him. It took him a few tries, but eventually it closed, and then his hands closed around Doyoung's waist, squeezing it harshly—Doyoung gasped into Johnny's mouth, and he could feel his legs give away from underneath him.

Johnny pulled back, breaking the kiss, and grinned at him. "You're so needy," he said, and it was just an observation, but something in Doyoung _burned._

"Please," he whispered, and it hitched at the end when Johnny's eyes darkened. "I feel really empty."

Johnny all but carried him at this point, throwing him down atop the couch—he must've remembered that Doyoung enjoyed the man-handling—and made to cover Doyoung's body with his own, to press him into the soft cushion, but Doyoung pushed him gently on the chest and, obediently, Johnny fell back.

"Stay," Doyoung ordered playfully and stripped: his shirt, his pants, even his underwear, and then he was fully naked, climbing into Johnny's lap. Johnny stared at all that soft skin, something akin to adoration in his eyes, and Doyoung flushed under his appreciative gaze. He wrapped his bare legs around Johnny's torso, and he rutted against Johnny's chest, his cock leaking pre-come all over his t-shirt.

"You're so messy," Johnny cooed. "Pretty little slut can't even control himself." They had talked before about what kinks they enjoyed and which they didn't, so Johnny knew the perfect mixture of praise and degradation that drove Doyoung wild.

He kissed Johnny again, more fervently this time. Johnny sneaked his tongue into Doyoung's open mouth and Doyoung sucked on it, hard; it reminded him of their time in the Vegas, when Johnny shoved his fingers in Doyoung's mouth, and Doyoung was so incredibly turned on by the memory that he trembled, pushing his ass back against Johnny's clothed hard-on.

In response, Johnny's hands tightened around Doyoung's waist and Doyoung gasped, looking down. His hands were so _big_ and Doyoung's waist was so _small_ that his fingers met at the middle, wrapping around Doyoung's body entirely.

Doyoung whimpered, loving how delicate he felt in Johnny's hold, and Johnny followed his gaze down then squeezed harder.

"You like that baby?" Johnny's voice was harsh and so beautifully _low._ "You like how much stronger I am than you?" Then, Johnny picked up Doyoung's entire body by the waist, lifting him up a few inches, and then set him down right on his cock _._ Doyoung cried out, his hole twitching desperately from the touch, and rutted again, helplessly—he wanted Johnny to be _in_ him already.

" _Johnny,_ " he whined. "I'll be good for you, please, please, I'll be so good, I need it—"

"Use your words, baby." Johnny started taking off his t-shirt and at the sight of his bare chest, Doyoung touched his own cock, but Johnny slapped his hand away. "That's mine, Doyoung," he said, sternly. "Hands off or do I have to tie you up?"

"I'm sorry, Johnny." Doyoung pouted, and then tried to reach behind him—

"That's mine too," Johnny growled, again slapping Doyoung's hand, this time away from his hole. "Doyoung, didn't you say that you'll be good for me?"

"But I _need it."_

"And I said use your words." Johnny slapped his ass in punishment and Doyoung rocked forward against Johnny's chest in a moan. "What do you need, baby?"

"You!"

"Not good enough," Johnny said, then twisted Doyoung's nipple. Doyoung collapsed against Johnny's chest, shivering.

"Y-your…" Doyoung squeezed his eyes shut, his cheeks reddening. "Your cock."

"Get on the bed," Johnny ordered. "Show me that you deserve it." Doyoung scrambled to comply. Doyoung could hear Johnny's belt clinking behind him, but he didn't turn around—the not-knowing made him excited.

Instead, he propped himself on all fours and bent forward, face smooshed into the pillow. He tried to spread his legs, too, and then spread his ass to best show off his empty hole.

Johnny didn't touch him at first, but Doyoung could feel Johnny's gaze on his body, and it was the perfect amount of humiliating: Doyoung, open and ready for cock, presenting his body like a whore.

He stayed in that position for a minute, trembling, but it felt like longer.

Then, _finally,_ Johnny touched him, tapping lightly on his hole, his hand slicked up with lube. "So pretty," he said, with a sort of clinical detachment, like he was evaluating an art piece and not Doyoung's body. "I can't wait to ruin it." Doyoung whined and pushed his ass back, chasing Johnny's fingers, but Johnny's hand was gone again.

"Arch your back," Johnny said. "Don’t you want some attention?" Doyoung shoved his ass further in his air, eager for more, and Johnny gave it to him—he slid one slick finger deep in and Doyoung keened.

Johnny slowly worked Doyoung open and Doyoung was shaking at the end of it, with Johnny's other hand inside his mouth again, to stave off the screams.

"You're so _tight,_ " Johnny said, appreciative, scissoring his four fingers in and out. Doyoung drooled a bit around Johnny's fingers—he actually hadn't even seen Johnny's cock yet, but his clothed hard-on was impressive, and his predications proved true when Johnny slapped his cock against Doyoung's hole loudly, still not entering. "Even when so many men have used you, split you open on their cocks… what a perfect whore."

"Please!" Doyoung screamed. He was _so turned on_ at this point that it hurt, but Johnny was cruelly dragging it out. "Johnny, I can't take it anymore—"

At these words, Johnny finally shoved his cock in and fucked Doyoung _hard_ into the mattress.

\---

It turned out that Johnny liked to cuddle after sex, and Doyoung let himself be held against Johnny's warm body, even if he felt a bit gross. Johnny was also surprisingly chatty and Doyoung listened drowsily.

Johnny talked about the courses he was taking—he was pre-med, but he still held onto the dream of being a fashion designer, or even just a boutique owner, though his parents didn't approve of it.

"I know they want the best for me," Johnny said. "But for once, I want them to consider that maybe my values don't match theirs, and I personally prioritize happiness over stability."

Doyoung made a vaguely agreeable noise; however, he sympathized with Johnny's parents more. Even if Doyoung didn't want to be a consultant, he was still looking for internships at the big firms, as a source of income he could rely on while developing his business ideas.

He wasn't like Johnny, who wanted to drop out of school entirely. That said, he did find Johnny's optimism endearing, and pecked him on the cheek for it.

"What was that for?" Johnny asked, warm and amused.

"Nothin' I jus' like you," Doyoung slurred drowsily, and Johnny gathered him closer into his chest. Before Doyoung could fall asleep, however, his cell phone started ringing and he frowned, then looked up at Johnny with wide eyes.

"I'll get it for you," Johnny said, mock put-upon, and then left Doyoung's side to retrieve his phone. He tossed it to Doyoung, who sat up to catch it, gratefully, and then Johnny went off into the kitchen to give Doyoung some privacy and make them some dinner.

"Jaehyun?" Doyoung asked, but his voice came out hoarse. Johnny really needed to stop shoving fingers into his mouth, he thought—but he loves it too, he admitted to himself. "What's wrong?"

"I found—Doyoung, are you sick? You sound sick."

"No." Doyoung laughed, feeling a bit embarrassed. "You were saying?"

"Wait, I kind of want to tell you in person," Jaehyun whined. Doyoung smiled helplessly; he could imagine Jaehyun pouting adorably. "Are you at the library? We ordered samples, so you don't have to read everything about the textile industry anymore."

"No… I'm at Johnny's." Doyoung winced at Jaehyun's silence—he was probably putting two-and-two together; Doyoung sounded _really_ fucked-out.

"Oh." There was a short silence, then Jaehyun's voice came out a bit strained: "And here I was thinking that you were being an intense nerd. _Intense nerd,_ Doyoung repeated inside his head, then shook his head to chase away the ugly feeling.

"Not exactly," Doyoung said, going for light-hearted.

"Well, tell Johnny that I said hi." Jaehyun still sounded strained, but Doyoung appreciated the effort. It was stupid that Jaehyun held onto their school rivalry like that, but at least he was trying to be more open-minded.

"So… what was the news?"

"I found a factory! It's a small one, in Israel, and they're willing to produce twenty samples for $900."

"That's fantastic, Jaehyun," Doyoung said affectionately. "I knew you could do it." He trusted Jaehyun so much for precisely this reason—Jaehyun was so _reliable,_ which was Doyoung's ideal type in a co-founder. "You're the best at this kind of thing."

"Thank you," Jaehyun said quietly, and then went silent, which was to be expected. Jaehyun had always been terrible at handling compliments. His ears were probably that cute shade of pink by now.

"Anyway, let's talk about our next steps." Doyoung shifted back into business mode, and started pacing around the room. "Once we receive the samples, let's do a few tests and then send them out as freebies to editors of magazines and newspapers. If they really like our product, they might write about us, which would great in terms of exposure.

"We should also start thinking about what we want our company name to be, along with our logo, that sort of preliminary branding stuff. We can ask Yuta for the graphic design, and then just send out a form to our friends with all the possible brand names and see which proves the most popular."

His pacing got faster, as did his talking, excited by the prospects.

"I think Kickstarter would be a good place to start too! We need one big order so the unit-by-unit cost will go down when importing—then begin designing our campaign as soon as possible, like figuring out the reward tiers, our goals—"

Doyoung turned around, and Johnny was standing at the door with a strange expression on his face. He was holding a table with two bowls of noodles balanced precariously on top.

"I've got to go," Doyoung said, and hung up before Jaehyun could protest. "How long were you standing there?"

"Just at the end," Johnny said. "When you were talking all that business stuff. You're… I mean, I knew it from our first meeting, but you're _really_ —"

"Weird?" Doyoung snapped. "Uptight? A control freak?"

"I was going to say _passionate,_ " Johnny said, then set the table down on the bed.

"Oh." Doyoung relaxed, and then felt a bit embarrassed that he assumed.

"But I like that I get to see the softer version of you too," Johnny added. "It kind of feels like a privilege, if you're usually like this."

"Fucking me is also a privilege," Doyoung reminded Johnny, and Johnny laughed. "There are a lot of things you should be thankful for." Then, he joined Johnny on the bed, and they ate the noodles quietly together.

It was comfortable.

Doyoung, warmed by the food, stood up and started putting on his shoes, ready to depart and get back on the bus to his campus. All of a sudden, he stretched, yawning, and blinked heavily. He frowned—he was a lot sleepier than he thought.

"Do you want to sleep here?" Johnny suggested. "I got a text from my roommate, and he said he's over at his partner's tonight, so…"

"If it isn't a bother," Doyoung said, then took off his shoes. He and Johnny were friends and Johnny was warm. He could take the bus to his morning class the next day. "Wait." He hesitated before climbing back into bed. "We're… we're casual, right? Fuck buddies, friends with benefits, etcetera. Like, this is just a convenience thing."

"Of course," Johnny said. "You can even sleep on the couch. You can also use the shower, by the way, if you still feel gross."

"I kind of do."

Doyoung went and showered, then Johnny lent him some clothes to sleep in, though they were over-sized. He decided to sleep on the couch—it felt like he was crossing some lines, if he _actually_ spent the night.

It ended up being surprisingly comfortable. They talked for hours, on different beds and staring up at the ceiling, like it was a middle school sleepover. About lighter things mostly, and Johnny was a funny story-teller, catching Doyoung up on all the crazy UCLA gossip, and Doyoung returned the favor.

At one in the morning, they finally stopped laughing enough to go to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for all the comments last time!!! ahahahaha any time im feeling a bit insecure about my writing and unmotivated, i looked at everyone's kind words and it makes me feel excited to continue my fic!! ;-;
> 
> weird thing but i hope the porn is hot bc like.... bro ive only been with girls so ??? anyway yesss johndo vs. jaedo is developinggg!! and tysm for reading seriously i am so grateful 🥰🥰🥰💖💖😭🥺


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lol i feel like im writing updates so fast that i should just write longer chapters and update less often... hahahahahah
> 
> just so u know their sexualities:
> 
> doyoung, johnny and taeyong are gay  
> jaehyun is bi  
> ten is pan
> 
> btw the way i define pan vs. bi is that jaehyun feels attraction differently depending on the gender, while ten is more, like, idc about ur gender i think ur hot

"You weren't in your room last night," Taeyong accused.

"Stalking me? Obsession isn't a good look on you." Doyoung pulled out his laptop and opened up his notes from the last lecture. Unfortunately, they were early to class and the professor wasn't there yet, so nothing could protect Doyoung from Taeyong's interrogation.

" _Everything_ is a good look on me." Taeyong waved his hand impatiently. "Anyway, Ten told me you weren't there last night."

" _Ten,_ " Doyoung hissed. "I hate that guy."

"You asked him to room with you," Taeyong pointed out. "For the past three years."

"Maybe resentment is good for my skin and that's why I keep Ten around." The professor still wasn't here, what the fuck? "Whatever, I'll tell you." Doyoung pretended to give in but, to be honest, he was kind of excited to tell Taeyong about Johnny. "I was with this guy. We, you know." Doyoung nodded meaningfully.

"Oh my god, congratulations to Jaehyun!"

"What? No, Taeyong, are you crazy?" Doyoung rolled his eyes. "We're _co-founders,_ I told you."

"You have notifications turned on for his Instagram only—"

"For professional reasons! Is it a crime to see what my business partner is up to?" Doyoung defended. "Anyway, back in Vegas, I met this guy named Johnny. And it turns out he's going to UCLA, so finally I have a consistent source of stress relief."

Then the professor arrived, apologizing for his tardiness, so Doyoung took out his phone and hid it beneath the table. He opened Instagram and showed Taeyong pictures of Johnny.

"Woah," Taeyong said. "He's… _buff._ Is he a frat bro? _"_ Taeyong laughed. "You really do have a type." Taeyong tilted his head. "Well, I guess that makes Ten the exception—"

"That was before I had common sense," Doyoung whined. "Stop bringing that up!"

The professor started talking now, so they both moved to texting each other on their laptops:

**taeyong**

so r u and johnny a thing now?

**doyoung**

yeah we're fwb i guess but idk hes rly cool taeyong

**taeyong**

LMAO how does jaehyun feel about that

**doyoung**

hes petty 🙄 🙄

since johnny goes to ucla hes our rival ig

**taeyong**

bro he used to date someone who went to ucla LMAO

i dont remember her name tho

**doyoung**

omg hes petty AND a hypocrite 🙄 🙄

idk tho like i know i SAID to johnny yesterday that i want it to be casual but idkkkk tae hes like cool

**taeyong**

LMAO in what way????????????

**doyoung**

like

idk he super funny n like nice and ALSO he likes that im intense 😌 😌 😌

and its easy to talk to him yeah

lol we talked all night it was kinda cool idk

**taeyong**

LMAO wdym most ppl like that ur intense bro

makes u responsible

u almost were voted ICC prez!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LMAO

**doyoung**

icb ten won still wtffff

**taeyong**

at least ur on the board?????

LMAO but u voted for him too

**doyoung**

bc i was tryin to be like nobleeeeeee

and humble

but ten didnt give a shit 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 mfer voted for himself

anyway idk if johnny likes me like that tho

bc he was like super fast to agree that we should stay casual

but like maybe he just said that bc i said that,,,?

IDK

**taeyong**

just like hang out with him more

and not just to fuck him LMAO

say its as friends or whatever but then maybe u can figure it out

and further the connection

**doyoung**

yeah i think im gonna do that

he already asked me if we can hang out this weekenddddd

**taeyong**

LMAO yall r moving so fast

poor jaehyun rip

**doyoung**

whatever ive been working harder on our project so far!

he can put in a bitttt more effort than me over these weeks when i try to woo johnny

if i get a bf id still work 🙄 🙄 🙄 jae doesnt have anythn to wry about

**taeyong**

hmmmmmmmmm

**doyoung**

?

**taeyong**

nah

**doyoung**

nah?!

taeyong

taeyong explain urself

taeyong

tae

tae

tae

OMG U ACTUALLY LEFT ME

\---

Doyoung paced around the front of the classroom, waiting for the students to start filling in the seats. Jaehyun, on the other hand, remained seated in one of the front desks, right beside Ten. They were in charge of taking attendance.

Ten was really making good use of their close proximity, taking the opportunity to touch Jaehyun as much as possible. Jaehyun seemed to glow from the attention, smirking back. Gone was the Jaehyun that blushed at every compliment; he was weirdly… confident. Self-assured and honestly a bit of a dick.

Doyoung didn't know how he felt about that. He really didn't like what Ten was doing.

Still, Ten was a consummate professional at the end of the day, one of the many qualities that made Doyoung reluctantly respect Ten. He straightened up smoothly, unfolding from Jaehyun's body with grace, and then began to address the room, which had filled up at this point.

"Hello, everyone! I know this is a surprise meeting for ICC, but two of our board members, Doyoung and Jaehyun, would like you to do them a favor."

Ten nodded at Doyoung and Doyoung stepped forward.

"Since a measly _six_ out of all of you answered our online form," Doyoung began, and some of the freshmen—who were still scared of him, and Doyoung was sadistically pleased by that fact—shuffled around nervously. "We're passing out paper forms for you all to fill out right now. It's about our company and the preliminary branding, like our font and company name and site design and etcetera. Jaehyun?"

Jaehyun nodded and pulled up the slide onto the widescreen at the front.

"These are four different logos that Yuta drew up. The numbers beside them correspond to the bubbles in the second question." Doyoung pointed at the slide, then narrowed his eyes at his Notes app, from where he was reading out. "He tells me that I should shout him out and let you all know that if you ever need a sexy logo to hit him up. Anyway, his contact information is on the form that Taeyong is passing out right now."

Haechan raised his hand.

"Put that down, this isn't a hand-raising situation—"

"Yes, Haechan?" Jaehyun interrupted.

"Isn't this an abuse of power?" Haechan asked. "You all are keeping us trapped here until we fill out something to do with _your_ company and nothing to do with ICC, the club we signed up for."

The students tittered, much to Doyoung's dismay.

"Are you calling this a tyranny—"

"You're free to leave." Jaehyun interrupted Doyoung again. "But we have cookies to bribe you with." Jaehyun pulled out a basket from underneath the desk beside him, then opened it. "Doyoung and Taeyong baked them together."

After that, the students settled down and obediently filled the forms out.

\---

The next two weeks, while they were waiting for the samples to arrive, followed the same pattern: Doyoung largely focused on school but whenever he had a free evening, he'd go over to Jaehyun's to do preliminary planning for the Kickstarter campaign.

_Neo Cotton_ was the most popular brand name according to the forms, along with a minimalist web-layout, font, and logo. Asking college students for their opinions, versus the people at department stores, ensured that their company would target the demographic underrepresented by advertising for bedsheets: the 20-somethings. That hit two key take-aways from the interviews at once.

Everything was going surprisingly smoothly thus far, but Doyoung was suspicious that their fortune would soon turn against them. Jaehyun said that he was worrying too much.

"Doyoung, we'll be okay," Jaehyun said from the other end of the bed, their legs tangled together. Doyoung was taking a break from writing the letters to the newspapers about their product, but his "break" consisted of studying for econ instead. "And there's no point in stressing about it now."

Jaehyun playfully kicked his legs and Doyoung grinned, kicking back.

"What's your coping mechanism?" Jaehyun asked. "I know that you usually watch movies to distract yourself, so—"

"I prefer sex," Doyoung said bluntly. "I saw Johnny last weekend already, though. But I guess I could text him right now too." Doyoung fished out his phone from his pants pocket, but then Jaehyun was leaning over him, his hands pressed on top of Doyoung's knees.

His body was big, Doyoung noticed. His torso looked almost twice as wide as Doyoung's, like it could cover him easily.

"What?" Doyoung asked, opening his phone. Then he smiled, delighted. "Hey, Johnny just texted me, actually—looks like his roommate's out—"

Jaehyun's face came closer and he nuzzled into the crick of Doyoung's neck, like a six-feet tall kitten. Rolling his eyes, Doyoung dropped his phone onto the bed, and patted at Jaehyun's hair.

"You're so touchy these days." Doyoung giggled. "You big baby."

Jaehyun leaned back so that he was face-to-face with Doyoung. Up close, Doyoung could see how nice Jaehyun's skin was. If Doyoung ever had to change faces with someone, it would surely be Jaehyun.

"Watch a movie with me," Jaehyun said, but his voice came out quiet, for he was so close, and his breath brushed against Doyoung's forehead with the kind of gentleness that was almost painful.

Doyoung closed his eyes and focused on the feeling of his own hands pressed against the bed. It was a grounding sensation.

"But Johnny wants me over—"

"Please."

"Okay," Doyoung said, helplessly, and let Jaehyun put his phone away onto the dresser. He let Jaehyun lead him to the top bunk, where Jaehyun's laptop was, and he let Jaehyun lean his head on his shoulder. Jaehyun was wearing a blue hoodie and smelled of fabric softener, fresh and clean.

\---

The samples arrived at Ten's house. Ten lived in LA, and he was kind enough to lend them his address.

He watched them, amused, as Jaehyun and Doyoung excitably opened the cardboard boxes.

"Bedsheets, huh," Ten said from somewhere behind them. "It still surprises me that _this_ is your break-through business idea, Doyoung."

"You don't see me commenting on your choreo." Doyoung huffed, borrowing Ten's box knife to precisely slice away the tape. "Fuck off."

"I just said I was surprised, Doyoung, I didn't say anything else—"

"It was implied, you dick, and I can read through the lines—"

"I wasn't judgmental; this is just my voice—"

"Get a new voice then—Wow," Doyoung breathed, and Jaehyun said it at the same time with the same kind of oddly reverent tone. The kind of tone that would be more fitting if directed toward one of those titanic redwoods, with its branches spiraling toward the heavens, and not the bedsheets that they unboxed: plain white fabric.

Doyoung and Jaehyun looked at one another, surprised by their synchronization, then they laughed. Jaehyun was grinning and his eyes crinkled up happily, which was cute on Jeno, Doyoung thought, but it had always been different on Jaehyun. Jaehyun looked like a proper prince, as if he was watching the fairytale princess descending the glass staircase to the ball.

But this wasn't fiction and Jaehyun was real, and he was happy. He was happy and Doyoung was happy because even if the bedsheets didn't look like much, they were soft in their grasp, and so very tangible.

It was theirs. Their creation.

"They're… nice," Ten said, still unimpressed. He touched the bedsheets, fingers brushing across the material. "Soft, though. Really soft."

"Affordable too," Jaehyun added. "The point is to have a factory-to-consumer model. Cut out the middle man and now it's _way_ less expensive."

"Also, e-commerce," Doyoung said, just to say something.

They unboxed the rest together.

Ten stuck around to help write the letters to the magazines. He was kind when you weren't looking too closely. Doyoung had only typed them out before, worrying over his word choice, but he wanted the letters to be hand-written ultimately, so they'd feel more… _human._ Like they were a team of people and not some faceless corporate entity.

Taeyong joined them later, as did Johnny. All five of them laid spread on Ten's living room floor, lying on their bellies and crowded around Doyoung's laptop. Transcribing the letters nicely on the cards.

Doyoung and Johnny had hung out together four more times since Doyoung had stayed overnight at his apartment. Each time had involved sex because Doyoung couldn't help himself, but they also talked afterward and it was nice. Still, Doyoung wondered when he and Johnny would take it a step further.

Jaehyun was a little prickly toward Johnny and, to Doyoung's surprise, Johnny was just as prickly back. He didn't smile like he usually did. Both of them had smiles that blew their features wide open, like a light was turning on inside of them, but those smiles disappeared when they looked at each other.

Jaehyun said that he didn't like Johnny because of the school rivalry—and maybe he was also a bit jealous that Johnny was stealing Doyoung's attention away. Doyoung was similarly jealous when Taeyong had that fling with Baekhyun, because Baekhyun was taking all of his best friend's time.

But Johnny… why would Johnny not like Jaehyun? Doyoung had already explained to him that they were _co-founders…_

They finished writing the letters by midnight, then sealed them into envelopes. Since the next day was a Saturday anyway, all five of them decided to stay over at Ten's house and drink together—other than Jaehyun, who was in charge of mailing the letters tomorrow, though Doyoung insisted he'd come with, no matter how hung over he was.

Ten and Taeyong really warmed up to Johnny—Ten was a bit too warm, in Doyoung's opinion, but he let it slide. Ten flirted with everyone, after all.

\---

"Someone wrote back!"

Jaehyun barged into Doyoung's room. Ten was doing Doyoung's makeup, but Doyoung immediately jumped to his feet and ran toward Jaehyun, catching him in a hug. Jaehyun was startled, but his arms closed around Doyoung's immediately, naturally, and even when Doyoung's face was nestled into the crook of Jaehyun's neck, he could already imagine Jaehyun's ears: cotton-candy pink and lovely.

"The Wall Street Journal will put out a piece about _Neo Cotton_ in their paper tomorrow," Jaehyun said, when Doyoung finally broke the hug. "I responded that we're going to launch our Kickstarter tomorrow too—I know we planned for this weekend, but let's move it up—so when it comes out in the paper tomorrow, people already have a place to order our sheets." Jaehyun looked incredibly pleased, like that meme with the cat and the knife, Doyoung thought, near hysterically. And, now that he could properly see, Jaehyun's ears were pink, pink, _pink._

"Congratulations," Ten said dryly, but Doyoung could see that he was impressed. Then, Ten tugged on Doyoung's arm, bringing him back onto the rug. "I'm still not done with your eyeliner," he said, annoyed. One of Ten's past girlfriends was a makeup artist, and he was now similarly obsessed. He flicked his gaze over to Jaehyun. "I wouldn't mind working on your face as well," Ten said. "You'd be the perfect canvas."

Ten was right, of course, but Doyoung didn't enjoy his scrutiny. And he didn't like how Jaehyun grinned back, his eyes half-lidded and heavy.

"Stop flirting with my co-founder," Doyoung snapped. Ten shrugged but something about his expression was mischievous, even cat-like. Jaehyun was looking at Doyoung and his face was serious, a strange sort of serious, so Doyoung looked away and concentrated on his reflection in the mirror.

The eyeliner lifted his eyes up from the corners. He looked meaner.

"I'm just being nice," Ten said. "What's the problem, Doyoung?"

"There is no problem," Doyoung said. Gone was the euphoria of entrepreneurial success, and in its place was an itchy sort of discomfort, like a big red welt in the center of his chest. Like a mosquito had sucked the blood straight out of his aching heart.

He didn't know how his expression looked, when he stared at Ten, who was smirking at Jaehyun. But Jaehyun—Jaehyun looked contemplative, almost.

"Ten," Jaehyun began, and he swooped his head down like a hawk would, and crowded into Ten's space. His smile was that of a prince. "I'd love to be your canvas."

Which, disgusting. Doyoung wanted to laugh, because that line was unforgivably cheesy, but no sound came out. He just watched, silently, when Ten brushed his finger beneath Jaehyun's eye gently, following the line of his cheekbone, _though there was no reason to._

Ten took out his eyeshadow palette and tapped his brush rhythmically.

It finally registered with Doyoung that his discomfort stemmed from a sense that he was a stranger in his own house. He and Jaehyun were celebrating about _their_ company, and then suddenly it became the Ten show.

"Jaehyun, don't we have more planning to do for our Kickstarter?"

They were co-founders, weren't they? Obviously, they couldn't be _into_ each other or whatever, so perhaps Ten had an edge up on Doyoung on that front—

"Just chill out," Jaehyun said, then laughed. "You can be a workaholic later."

Ten started to apply primer to Jaehyun's eyelid, humming to himself. Ten looked chill and _not_ like a workaholic.

Doyoung stood up so quickly that he almost stumbled. _I've got to go,_ he said, vaguely, and the door closed behind him loudly.

\---

"We're going to do this differently this time," Doyoung said, opening himself up as quickly as possible. "Help me out." He reached for Johnny's hand and then guided his fingers toward his hole.

"No foreplay?" Johnny asked. He was smirking. Doyoung frowned, then set his index finger against Johnny's lips.

"Be quiet," he commanded. "And get your cock into me."

Johnny was sitting on the couch, while Doyoung sat in his lap, facing him. As usual, Johnny had barely opened the door before Doyoung was climbing onto him.

Johnny's fingers were precise, slicked up from the excess lube leaking out, and soon there were four fingers in Doyoung's ass.

Doyoung sank down onto his cock with one smooth movement, gasping out, then starts riding Johnny at an aggressive place.

"Doyoung, what's gotten into you—"

"I told you to _shut up,_ " Doyoung growled. He set his hand on Johnny's chest to lift himself up, then he slammed back down. Johnny's eyes rolled back, groaning, and Doyoung smirked to himself, pleased, stroking Johnny's face. "I only want to hear your moans, baby," he cooed, almost mockingly. "Make me feel good."

All of sudden, Johnny leaned forward and curled his fingers around Doyoung's wrists. Confused, Doyoung tried to shake him off—

"Doyoung, stop," Johnny said. Then, he fit his hands around the small of Doyoung's waist to pick him up, lifting Doyoung off his cock and setting Doyoung onto his thighs instead.

Doyoung twitched from the sensation of emptiness, angry.

"What the fuck, Johnny—"

Then, Johnny's finger brushed something beneath Doyoung's eye, and Doyoung realizes it was a _tear,_ that his face was _wet._

"You're crying," Johnny said, gently.

"I'm _not,_ " Doyoung insisted, wiping away his tears. "I'm—Why am I crying?"

His voice broke. He was afraid to look at Johnny, fearful that he'd see pity in his eyes. Johnny cupped Doyoung's face in his hands, gently lifting his head up.

In his expression, Doyoung could only see kindness.

"Doyoung, you're clearly stressed and I don't want to take advantage of you like this." Johnny gathered Doyoung into his arms, and Doyoung sunk dreamily into his warmth. "I'll run you a bath and, if you want to, we can talk about it."

\---

After Doyoung stopped crying, Johnny filled his bathtub and Doyoung got in. Then, he tugged Johnny in as well, and though Doyoung was sitting with his back against Johnny's chest, both of them naked in the water, it almost felt friendly. Secure.

"Johnny?"

"Yes, baby?"

"Do you… do you like me? Am I likable?"

"Of course," Johnny said. "Doyoung, and I'm not saying this just to say this, but I think you're _perfect._ "

"Aren't I too intense?"

"I like it, though."

"Really?"

"Why are you surprised?" Johnny asked, quietly. "I think it's sexy that you pursue things with all you've got. That you're such a leader."

Johnny hooked his thumb on the corner of Doyoung's mouth and, obediently, Doyoung opened up. Doyoung closed his eyes as Johnny pushed his fingers back into his throat, and he gagged a bit. Eyes watering, he looked back at Johnny, and shivered at how possessive Johnny looked.

"You're so strong," Johnny reiterated. "Yet you're so pliant for me." He pulled his hand back and Doyoung gasped at the sudden movement. "Doyoung, you're really attractive, okay?"

"Yeah, I get that I can be sexy or whatever, but—Okay, I'm not asking if I'm likable, it's more… Could someone _love_ me? You know? Like, I think I'm _fine,_ I'm secure about that. I know I have good qualities. But I can't imagine that someone would ever… want to spend, like, the rest of their life together with me."

"Doyoung—"

"The last person I liked thought I was too much," Doyoung admitted. "He liked me as a friend, but… not as someone who was permanent."

"Doyoung," Johnny began. He paused, like he was hesitating, then tightened his arms around Doyoung's body.

"I like you, Doyoung. And I… I think I could love you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cc: [parayeet](https://curiouscat.me/parayeet)
> 
> AS ALWAYS...  
> thank you for reading, kudos-ing, and commenting!
> 
> some of yall said that you liked my story sm that u re-read it even tho it's still unfinished.......... bro 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 im so grateful for the appreciation!!!!!!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry everyone super short chapter this time :[ its been a v busy week for me and im just trying to get back into the writing mood... i'll update tomorrow and it'll be MUCH longer haha

Today was the big day.

They decided to launch the Kickstarter at Ten's house—Jaehyun's room was much too small to fit all of their friends, and Doyoung wanted the launch to be a day of celebration. Taeyong had even baked a cake for the occasion. On it _Jaehyun and Doyoung's Big Day!_ was written in pink icing and red hearts made of frosting decorated the edges. Doyoung felt like Taeyong was trying to imply something, but since Jaehyun didn't say anything about, he didn't point out how weird the cake was either.

Jaehyun decided to invite all of the students who helped with the interviews as well, much to Doyoung's dismay. Haechan and Renjun weren't doing anything per se, but just looking at them made him nervous. Same with Yuta, who seemed very intent with getting Taeyong to dance with him to the folk playing in the background. Unfortunately, Ten's house meant Ten's rules and Ten's playlist.

Sufjan Stevens was crooning out in the background and the soundtrack to the moment was really fucking sad, but Doyoung felt genuinely grateful. He oftentimes came off as hyper-critical, but Doyoung was—he _liked_ his friends' flaws and their fallacies, for it made everything all the more memorable.

The moment of the launch itself wasn't anything to write home about. Both he and Jaehyun had already prepared all the logistics in the preceding week, so all that was left was to click the button. Flip the metaphorical switch. Some of the other magazines had written back to them and they were ready to broadcast their idea to the world, armed with a link to their online campaign and the hopes to make it big, big, _big._

"You ready?" Jaehyun asked. Jaehyun always looked better when smiling, and now he was full-on grinning, his eyes curled up in joyous crescents.

Doyoung had initially wanted to be the one to click the button to launch their Kickstarter, but Jaehyun was right, wasn't he? Doyoung was too controlling and giving up this moment for Jaehyun was his first step to loosening up…

Jaehyun, however—he took Doyoung's hand into his. His palm was warm and heavy, pressing against the back of Doyoung's hand. He lifted Doyoung's hand and placed it upon the mouse. Catching on, Doyoung smiled back.

"Together," Jaehyun said, sweetly, and though Doyoung doubted it was even possible, Jaehyun's eyes curled up even further so they practically became upside-down _V_ s. Like the shapes of those swans flying off into the sunset or something; like their silhouettes, but upside-down, in a topsy-turvy world?

Which was a tad bit nonsensical, but Doyoung was no longer preoccupied by the dissonance inside his head—

"I'm ready," he said, and his vision blew apart, suddenly crystal-clear—

Their Kickstarter was loaded on Doyoung's laptop, and Jaehyun's hand was over Doyoung's, and Doyoung's hand was on the mouse, and the mouse's cursor was hovering over the _Launch_ button, and Doyoung's finger pressed down.

The confetti came too early—Ten didn't time it quite right—and then the banner was rolled down and it read _Congrats on the baby!_ Taeyong claimed that there were only baby shower banners left in stock, which Doyoung was a little suspicious about but, to be fair, Neo Cotton _was_ his and Jaehyun's baby. It was their creation; they developed and built and formed it together.

Seconds later, everyone started yelling and Doyoung was grinning so hard that his face hurt. Jaehyun was looking back at him and they didn't do anything but smile madly at one another like the world was fucking ending and they were the bastards that started the apocalypse—that kind of expresso-shot, all-nighter crazy that only college students could possess.

It was finally their time and the future looked so bright it gleamed.

Yuta had convinced Taeyong to dance with him at that point, and they were twirling around together; Yangyang scooped a piece of cake into his hands and smashed it into Kun's face; and the folk switched to some upbeat pop, energy thrumming just below the bassline—Jaemin took this as an opportunity to pull some drumsticks out of who-knows-where, and started to play a rumbling rhythm against the damn wall.

"Let's fucking goooooooooo!" Mark, of all people, was screaming, his voice barely loud enough to soar over the festive cacophony, popping open a bottle with a _spoon_ , and Jaehyun was showered with the incoming champagne—the froth spilled over his body, beautiful and wet; Doyoung couldn’t stop laughing, swept up into the blood-pumping, heart-racing adrenaline of the occasion—

Then Johnny was there, pulling Doyoung into his chest and lifting him up with his strong arms, and Doyoung gladly welcomed it, hooking his own arms around Johnny's neck, bringing their faces close.

Doyoung leaned in and they kissed so lovingly it made Doyoung giddy.

Johnny set him back down and Doyoung stared up at him. Johnny's smile was so very pretty. He was truly the sweetest man Doyoung had ever met. Johnny's hair was a bit long and fell into his eyes, so Doyoung brushed it back, hand trembling. In the edges of his vision, he saw Taeyong rushing over to Jaehyun and Doyoung was worried for a split-second, but then Johnny cupped Doyoung's face with his hands again and they kissed once more.

So, Doyoung closed his eyes and let himself lose himself to the elation.

\---

"So, is Johnny your boyfriend now?"

Taeyong accosted Doyoung in the stairwell the next morning. Doyoung looked for the nearest exit, ready to sprint away, but unfortunately Taeyong must've anticipated Doyoung's flightiness—Taeyong moved so that his body was blocking the way out.

Doyoung gave in.

"Yeah," he said, and it came out a little dopey. "He—yeah, he's my boyfriend."

Doyoung flushed a bit at how breathless he sounded, but even the mere mention of Johnny's name made him feel weightless.

When Johnny confessed to him in the bathtub, Doyoung almost started crying again, and he kissed Johnny, overcome with emotion—and then Johnny asked to become boyfriends and _of course!_ —and then they fucked in the water—

It was incredible that there was someone who _liked_ Doyoung, in the never-ending, endless, infinite way.

"What about Jaehyun?"

"What do you mean?" Doyoung tiled his head, confused. "Jaehyun's still single? Are you _interested?_ " Then again, that was understandable. Jaehyun was so kind and beautiful—yet endearing in a helpless duckling kind of way.

"Go for it!" Doyoung encouraged, then he frowned. He felt a bit discomfited about the idea—two of his best friends dating would be _weird;_ he'd hate to third-wheel… but that was too controlling, right?

Doyoung pasted on a smile again.

"I can put in a good word for you," Doyoung said enthusiastically. "If you're nervous to ask him out—"

"Oh my _god,_ " Taeyong said, throwing his hands up into the air and then _he_ was the one to run away. "I'm done here; just go have your weekly brunch with Ten or whatever."

"I'm _not_ meeting Ten," Doyoung said, annoyed that Taeyong was a little bit right. "Ten and I are just going to the same restaurant at the same time," he continued petulantly, but Taeyong was already gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yell at me about nct at my [cc](https://curiouscat.me/parayeet)!
> 
> thank u for reading, kudos-ing & commenting! again there will be a longer update soon lol


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as promised, 3k today!!! the next chapter might take a little longer to get out haha maybe friday? idk
> 
> also [tipsy doyoung](https://mobile.twitter.com/kdoyochi/status/1292857210796556289) is the CUTEST and i had to write him in

The next week went by quickly and slowly at the same time.

The day that their product launched, Doyoung couldn't help but stare at the Kickstarter page all afternoon, watching the numbers slowly crawl up. He didn't even bother showing up at the lecture, instead huddled beneath a blanket in his room, eyes fixated on his glowing screen.

The growth in the purchases was healthy but not particularly impressive; Doyoung tried to teach himself to base his pride off the accomplishment of starting a business to begin with—he ought to be satisfied with the fact that _Neo Cotton_ was now an actual company, to hell with the numbers—but it was hard not to wince at the growth, or lack thereof.

Again, the numbers were fine, but they weren't _great,_ and would Doyoung be Doyoung if he didn't aim for greatness?

Three days into the Kickstarter campaign, however, the purchases started to hit their stride. The article by the Wall Street Journal finally came out, as did a write-up in Fast Company. Within that day alone, there were four times as many customers as the previous two days combined—

"820 backers," Jaehyun said, barging into Doyoung's room. He was carrying his laptop, balanced precariously in the crook of his elbow. "Now 823," Jaehyun corrected, looking back at the screen.

"And around $90,000 pledged," Doyoung agreed. Though it seemed that he was studying his econ textbook, his phone was nestled between the pages, and Doyoung kept refreshing their Kickstarter webpage. "We already hit our goal."

"We did," Jaehyun said.

Neither of them were yelling; their voices came out very normal, in fact, at least in regards to volume—the quality of their speech was a different matter, though, because Jaehyun's throat _trembled_ and he was almost stuttering again, like he did back in middle school.

Back when they visited Vegas together, Jaehyun's father had shared videos of a younger Jaehyun: a Jaehyun with narrower shoulders and a bit more recklessness, and there was a fresh vulnerability to him, for Jaehyun could not quite maintain eye contact.

Doyoung found a glimpse of that younger Jaehyun in this moment: Jaehyun sat down on top of Doyoung's bed and Doyoung joined him; they were side-by-side, but Jaehyun was staring at his hands, bottom lip jutting out.

Doyoung thought he rid himself of that nervous tic a while ago.

"It's happening," Jaehyun tried to whisper, but it came out pitched and maybe there was even a voice crack in there. Startled by the sound, Jaehyun buried his head into his arms, and curled up into a ball to flop onto his side on Doyoung's bed. Embarrassed, ears turning pink. "I'm… happy," he continued. "And proud of us." Jaehyun cleared his throat, once, twice. "I'm glad you were the one, Doie. I'm glad we did this together." He laughed, sitting back up but still in his curled-up state. "I'm glad I chose you."

Now Doyoung was shaking, overcome by Jaehyun's sincerity, and he gathered Jaehyun into his arms, holding him—he ignored the part of himself that insisted that this proximity was unbecoming of business partners, and concentrated on the warmth seeping through the back of Jaehyun's shirt. The fresh vulnerability of a younger Jaehyun had made a reappearance, and Doyoung intended to celebrate it.

Rarely did he see Jaehyun be so honest.

\---

Eleven days into the campaign—and a week before its endpoint—Doyoung entered the campus kitchen, almost bouncing. He felt a bit like a toddler, but Doyoung was too giddy to give a shit. They broke _two-hundred-K_ already; the growth was slowing down, but still: _two-hundred-fucking-thousand dollars._

Jaehyun and Johnny were already there. The three of them were meeting in the USC campus kitchen to start making the food. Doyoung regretted that he had promised a banquet for all the interviewers weeks ago, but he wasn't one to back out of a deal. Haechan would get his fucking sushi.

In the kitchen, Jaehyun was… Doyoung rolled his eyes. Jaehyun was doing that thing where he straightened up from his usual relaxed posture to… what, _intimidate_ Johnny? Was this a school rivalry thing, or was Jaehyun just being a stupid man?

They weren't talking to each other, just staring. It was weird as hell.

When Doyoung neared, the strange tension didn't dissipate, instead it only strengthened—Johnny grabbed Doyoung's waist and brought him against his chest to back hug him. Then, Johnny's fingers massaged the side of his neck, tracing down toward his collar bone, and Doyoung was confused for a split-second before he flushed.

There were _bruises_ on his neck, right. Even since Johnny and Doyoung became boyfriends, Johnny became very into marking Doyoung up, like Doyoung was Johnny's personal chew toy.

Doyoung freed himself from Johnny's hold, feeling weird. Jaehyun's gaze was fixed intently on the dip in his shirt's collar, where Doyoung's skin was tinged a purple-blue. Though Doyoung typically welcomed PDA, it was just… wrong to have only Jaehyun witness it.

Doyoung cleared his throat, trying to shake the discomfort away. "Um, here's the recipe list?" Doyoung winced—it came out as a question, didn't it? Fuck Jaehyun and Johnny, making him so unsure. "Here's the recipe list," he repeated, more firmly this time, sliding into no-nonsense mode.

"I ordered everything into a color-coded schedule with blocks," Doyoung explained. "For example, while we're waiting for Yangyang's cornbread to bake, that gives us just enough time to prepare Taeyong's unpronounceable Italian pasta _and_ Jaemin's _pho._ I want to get out of here as soon as possible; I have things to do."

"What, so you can stare at the Kickstarter numbers some more?" Jaehyun teased.

Doyoung laughed, smiling at him with pink gums.

"Or because you want to re-watch _The Princess Bride_ for the twelfth time?" Johnny teased.

Doyoung flushed. "I don't do that," he whined, hitting Johnny gently on his shoulder and pouting cutely. Johnny pinched him on the cheek.

"Or do you have plans with Ten, though you claim to hate his guts?" Jaehyun teased, again.

"Stop," Doyoung said, giggling, smiling widely at Jaehyun once more.

"Or—" Johnny started.

"Let's get started on Taeil's French onion soup and bread, alright?" Doyoung interrupted. Johnny and Jaehyun were glaring at one another and smiling at Doyoung in equal measure, and Doyoung got the distinct feeling that he had stumbled across a dick-measuring contest, both of them competing to… make Doyoung laugh more, as ridiculous as that sounds. Like wild animals with no higher brain function.

What Doyoung liked about the both of them was how _soft_ they were, despite their jock-like, fratboy-esque appearance. He didn't know how to act around the more aggressive versions of Johnny and Jaehyun.

Thankfully, the two of them settled down when they started to make the dishes, keeping quiet as they chopped the vegetables. Doyoung ordered them around the kitchen and he felt distinctly like an overlord directing his underlings around. Though Doyoung was committed to try and transform, to be less of a control freak like Jaehyun wanted, there was no way to diminish the heady rush of power that rolled down his spine whenever he told the two men to do something and they hastily followed through to please him. It was kind of funny that Doyoung lived to be the leader in his everyday life, yet submitted so easily when it came to sex.

Speaking of which, Johnny's arms were really nice—he rolled up his sleeves to knead the dough, and the muscles were very well-defined under the harsh white lights. Meanwhile, Jaehyun was wearing a loose tank top cut in such a way that, as he moved to drizzle oil on the pan, Doyoung got a quick glimpse of his back dimples.

Doyoung turned his attention make to the pasta in the pot.

An hour into their cooking party, the three of them had completed one dish and were in the middle of three others. They were lagging behind a bit—Doyoung had anticipated _two dishes_ being finished within the hour, but the cucumbers were placed in the wrong refrigerator and looking for them took a hefty ten minutes. Doyoung turned the knob on the stove up so that the eggs would congeal faster into an omelet. Eight dishes within two hours was still in the realm of possibility, thank god.

They continue to work silently—Jaehyun on the cornbread, Johnny making the pasta sauce, and Doyoung slicing tomatoes—for the next forty minutes. The tension from before had long disappeared at this point; Johnny and Jaehyun were too caught up in the cooking process to antagonize one another.

Now, the atmosphere made Doyoung feel warm and even a little drowsy, content. He could imagine himself back at his grandmother's house, back when his father would run around wildly to prepare all the food for their relatives. He really loved to cook, so Doyoung always associated the hardy scent of simmering stew with home—it wasn't a particularly distinctive nor strong scent; rather, it was the scent of _warmth._

Jaehyun reminded Doyoung of home too; it was something about how… open he was, and genuine; and the two combined—Jaehyun stirring Taeil's French onion soup with a ladle, his profile both strong and delicate—it flooded Doyoung with happiness.

"Jaehyun?" Doyoung called out. Jaehyun was turning the flame back down, the soup finished, and he turned around. Jaehyun was actually sweating, and he pushed the bangs out of his face like a star athlete.

"Yes?" Jaehyun returned, walking over to Doyoung's portion of the countertop. "What is it, Doie?" Johnny's gaze flicked over to the two of them at the nickname _Doie_.

Doyoung was confused—What game was Jaehyun playing? Jaehyun usually reserved the nickname for more profound moments, like the day before, when Jaehyun was commemorating their partnership and success. Yet here he was, saying _Doie_ so casually.

"I'm having trouble with the dumpling folding," Doyoung said, pushing the thoughts away. "Could you take care of it for me? Help me while I start rolling the sushi."

"Of course."

"And, also—we don't have enough soy sauce," Doyoung continued. "Could you go and buy some afterward? I trust you to do so quickly."

"Of course," Jaehyun repeated.

Doyoung grinned and began whisking the eggs in his bowl with renewed vigor. He was glad that he had Jaehyun to depend on and tie up the loose ends.

\---

The banquet was a muted affair compared to the party at the launch before. They were in a corner of the dining hall and it was late so not too many students were milling around.

Haechan and Renjun even got dressed up for the occasion, decked in expensive-looking velvet suits that _must've_ been rented. Doyoung scrutinized their hands, which were clasped together. Gay or not gay?

The other students looked similarly classy, decked out in black-and-white, taking the name of _banquet_ to heart. The furnishings of a rich maroon tablecloth and candlesticks mounted on elaborate silver holders—courtesy of Ten's vampire aesthetic—further sold the illusion of wealth and luxury in the mundane dining hall.

It seemed that all took advantage of the occasion to embrace the fantasy of living high-class, to escape the extraordinarily broke lifestyle of the typical college student for just one day. In fact, Taeyong actually bowed to everyone, or curtsied depending on his mood. Jaemin took on a posh British accent.

The eleven of them—the eight interviewers, and then Jaehyun, Johnny, and Doyoung—they milled around their section of the USC dining hall, talking to one another in little groups. Doyoung was feeling a bit tipsy, nursing a glass of wine in one hand, and buoyed from the satisfaction of a job well done. With every sound of appreciation that Mark emitted when he dug into his dumplings, Doyoung felt a little lighter.

He swayed with Johnny for a while, head resting into the crook between Johnny's shoulder and neck. There was an Indonesian ballad playing in the background and Haechan was singing along while Kun effortlessly harmonized with him. Johnny patted at the side of his face comfortingly and Doyoung let out little pleased sounds.

"You like me," Doyoung said and he giggled. He was a happy drunk—most people pinned him down as a melancholy one upon first impression, but Doyoung loosened up with a little alcohol in his system. He smiled more easily, laughed more easily. "Johnny, you _like_ me," Doyoung repeated, almost sing-songy. He giggled again then tripped on an uneven tile, pitching forward into Johnny's chest. Johnny's hand was warm and firm against his waist, holding Doyoung upright. Doyoung leaned into the feeling of ditzy-ness, that he was _cared_ for.

"Someone actually likes me," Doyoung said, almost wondrously.

"I do," Johnny said gently and then, first looking around to see if anyone was paying attention (they weren't), he pushed a finger up against Doyoung's plush bottom lip. Doyoung obediently opened his mouth, cutely sucking on Johnny's fingers. "Your mouth is so slutty," Johnny whispered. His eyes were dark. "Always open and willing for me."

"Not _here!_ " Doyoung protested, fighting against his arousal. "We're in _public,_ Johnny," he whined, hitting Johnny lightly on the chest with his fist. "Jaehyun might see—"

Johnny's eyes went dark again, but not with lust; he looked angry, rather, and his hand tightened around Doyoung's waist, squeezing at his skin harshly. And his other hand came around to grab at Doyoung's wrist, and forcibly pull him away toward the exit—

"What the fuck?" Doyoung yelped from the pain, shaking Johnny off of him. He snapped out of his comfortable drowsy state. "Johnny, what was that for? That _hurt._ "

"It's always Jaehyun with you," Johnny accused. "It's always Jaehyun this, Jaehyun that—"

"Because Jaehyun's my co-founder!" Doyoung yelled. "There's nothing to be jealous of!" Then, he noticed that everyone was staring at him. Jaehyun was staring at the floor.

Doyoung sighed, breathing out shakily, and Johnny did the same, the both of them calming down.

"Are you actually jealous?" Doyoung said, quietly. "Because there really is no reason to be, Johnny. I would never date my co-founder—"

"Can we talk?" Johnny asked. He sighed again, hands worrying the hem of his button-up. "I'm—I'm sorry that I grabbed you like that, I just—can we please go off somewhere? Maybe to your dorm and talk?"

"Don't grab at my wrist like that again," Doyoung warned but then softened. Johnny looked incredibly apologetic, his eyebrows drawn together on his forehead. It wasn't like Johnny was violent; it seemed more like he didn't realize the extent of his own strength. "Let's go upstairs."

\---

Ten was there already, smoking in his boxers with a girl, but he took one glance at Doyoung's tense face and he pulled the girl out with him, moving to smoke in her room. Doyoung tried not to appreciate Ten too much, else the praise would surely go to his head, but he had to admit that Ten was a perceptive roommate. Maybe he would leave a croissant on Ten's desk the next day.

"Doyoung," Johnny began, when they were seated across from one another on the bed. He had sobered up and was more hesitant than before, choosing his words carefully. "Are you sure there's nothing going on between you and Jaehyun?"

"We're _co-founders,_ " Doyoung repeated. "I would never mess up a professional partnership like that—"

"Just because you won't act on those feelings," Johnny said. "That doesn't mean those feelings don't exist."

"Johnny, Jaehyun's not interested in me anyway."

"I'm not sure about that—"

"He isn't, okay?" Johnny didn't know Jaehyun like Doyoung did. "I get that he might _seem_ like it sometimes," Doyoung admitted. "I'm not _that_ stupid—I get that he seems a bit possessive over me, but I can 100% guarantee that what Jaehyun is feeling isn't romantic, and it isn't sexual either." Doyoung clasped Johnny's hands into his, and then looked deep into Johnny's eyes, urging him to understand. "Johnny, please, don't ask me how I know. Just trust me: I know for a fact that Jaehyun is not interested in me."

"I don't know—"

" _Johnny,_ please! Just trust me on this, that Jaehyun doesn't _love me like that!_ "

"But what about you?" Johnny accused. "You keep insisting that Jaehyun doesn't love you like that, but do you love Jaehyun _like that?_ "

"I _don't,_ " Doyoung insisted. "He's just my friend."

"Then why did you go to him to help you with the dumplings? To help you get the soy sauce?"

"What are you talking about?" It looked like Johnny swerved straight into paranoia. "What are you trying to imply?"

"Doyoung, you always go to Jaehyun for help," Johnny said. "When preparing for the banquet—today, that was just one instant within a larger pattern. It's clear that you trust Jaehyun more than me."

"That's not fucking _true—_ "

"Look into my eyes right now, baby," Johnny said, but the pet name was not affectionate; no, it was mocking, it was harsh, it was condescending. "Look into my eyes and tell me that, if you were feeling upset, the first person you'd seek out is me, not Jaehyun."

"Easy," Doyoung scoffed, looking back at Johnny. "Jaehyun's usually the one who makes me upset anyway—"

"Let's say that you didn't do well on a test. Who would you go to?"

"You, obviously," Doyoung insisted. "I'd go to—"

But, Jaehyun was warm, wasn't he, and he was open, too, open like the plains beneath a bright blue sky—he was genuine and he trusted people so easily because he was _special,_ he was different, a pillar of innocence in Doyoung's cynical world, the perfect softer balance to Doyoung's take-no-prisoners attitude—Jaehyun was so beautiful it hurt and still, despite it all, he felt like _home_ —

"I'm sorry," Doyoung cried out, burying his head into Johnny's chest. He was crying again, embarrassingly enough, and his nose was running and his face must've looked so ugly, red and puffed-up like a scab. "Please don't break up with me," he begged, through tears, and he hugged at Johnny tighter, cried harder. "I like you too," Doyoung said. "I like you so much, Johnny. You make me feel like I am worthwhile—please, please, _please_ Johnny don't break up with me—I'm so sorry, I'm the worst, I get it, but I couldn't possibly stand it if you left—I'm sorry, I hate myself but don't leave, don't leave, don't leave…"

Doyoung kept chanting _don't leave_ through tears, desperate and a little pathetic, until Johnny returned the hug, carding his fingers through Doyoung's hair.

"You're allowed to like two people at once, Doyoung," Johnny said, because Johnny was the _sweetest person in the world,_ even when Doyoung felt like he didn't deserve it. "I… I'm jealous, to be honest, but—You're not using me, are you? To get over Jaehyun?"

"I'm _not,_ " Doyoung said, firmly. "I really do like you so much, Johnny, and I've been trying to get over Jaehyun for a long time already." Doyoung felt weird admitting it, saying out loud that _yes_ , he used to be in love with Jaehyun, the beautiful and accidentally cruel Jung Jaehyun. "I'm almost there, Johnny, I promise," Doyoung said. "And… Johnny, I like you too. And I could love you. Jaehyun's a dead-end, so… So, I want to actually have something, with someone as wonderful as you. I promise, Johnny, that I like you so much already and, one day, I really can see myself loving you and you alone."

"Well, catch up," Johnny said, his voice trembling. "Because I'm already there."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the first bombshell of the end arc! but yes, it gets MORE INTENSE FROM HERE!!! not sure if im totally satisfied by the way i wrote (+ expressed) the last scene, but i do like the concept
> 
> yell at me about nct (fic-related or not) on [cc](https://curiouscat.me/parayeet)
> 
> AS ALWAYS, tysm for reading, kudos-ing, and commenting!! i treasure every comment i get <3 i love yall haha


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol i promised one of my readers (on cc i think?) that i'd try to update soon so here it is! also i was procrastinating on writing my novel by writing fic rip
> 
> also prepare yourself for this chapter. it's a WILD one

Since Johnny confessed to Doyoung, and then Doyoung told Johnny about Jaehyun, their relationship became something much purer.

It was funny because Doyoung usually considered himself the poster child of open communication; he was the blunt one, the one who would sit someone down, look them straight in the eye, and ask if there was a problem here. He did it with Taeyong before, with Ten before—even with Yuta before, when Doyoung wasn't sure if Yuta was _joking_ about how nagging Doyoung was, or if it was a legitimate issue. Thankfully, in that case, it was the former, and Doyoung only learned that due to his directness. It was his characteristic honesty that made him feel secure in every friendship.

With Jaehyun, it was different, however. With Jaehyun, it was always different.

Doyoung was ambitious enough that he always aimed higher than his expectations, and thus had failed, again and again. During internships, on quizzes, in competitions. Doyoung could grow accustomed to that sort of failure. He could use those failures to propel himself further.

But Doyoung would _never_ be brave enough to handle rejection from Jaehyun.

And so, he ignored his feelings, never telling anyone until Johnny on the night of the banquet. For the first time, Doyoung saw that he and Johnny balanced each other too, just like with Jaehyun. Johnny was easy-going; Doyoung softened around him. More importantly, he could be brave whenever Doyoung couldn't.

As the campaign wore on, Doyoung and Johnny met up with each other almost daily. They ate together at restaurants and watched dramas in Johnny's apartment. Doyoung still had lingering feelings for Jaehyun, but he liked Johnny _so much,_ and he welcomed the feeling of being wanted once more.

He was working to love Johnny back. Maybe he was moving onto the next chapter of his life. The chapter where he loved Jaehyun was so long and tragic, he may as well flip the page. Look for the happy ending.

"I made this for you," Johnny said once, on the weekend. He looked nervous, awkward, so different from his usual confidence. In his hands was a bag, one of the stiff ones with shape, like the kind you would put birthday presents in.

Doyoung opened it in the living room, and stared when he saw the hoodie inside.

"I thrifted the fabric," Johnny said. "It was a pair of pajama pants, but then I customized it for you. You're always wearing hoodies, so…"

The print was a bit too loud for Doyoung, whose tastes weren't as eclectic as Johnny's could be, but he understood the sentiment behind it. He hugged Johnny, wordless, on tip-toes so his head would rest on Johnny's shoulder.

"You're sewing again," Doyoung breathed into his ear. Johnny took a break from altering clothes, ever since he learned that his father was bragging to his friends that his son was going to be a doctor. In a heartbreakingly realistic move—one Doyoung would surely take, but not Johnny, _never_ Johnny—he put aside his fashion dreams for a while to concentrate on his studies.

"I am," Johnny said simply. "My friend took me out and I saw this and I thought of you."

Doyoung leaned back on his heels, smiling. "Am I your muse now?"

"Maybe."

Johnny then fucked Doyoung _hard_ into the bed, with Doyoung wearing nothing but the hoodie.

\---

Doyoung wanted to get over Jaehyun, so he tried to see Jaehyun less, Johnny more. Thankfully, Jaehyun and him didn't share any classes and if Doyoung tried hard enough, he could subtly dodge out of any room Jaehyun was in.

If Jaehyun noticed his lack of presence, he didn't say anything. Maybe he even appreciated it—Doyoung wouldn't blame Jaehyun. Doyoung was self-aware enough to realize that his intensity could be suffocating; he was constantly barging into Jaehyun's room to analyze the Kickstarter numbers to a hypercritical degree, ranting on about how _maybe_ they should've altered the rewards tiers, that they should've charged $60 more, not $55 more for international versus domestic shipping. Talking about meaningless details helped Doyoung take his mind off things, but it probably wasn't pleasant to be in the audience of those monologues.

When Ten and Taeyong threw them a party for their Kickstarter ending, it was the first time Doyoung had seen Jaehyun in ten days—since the banquet.

By then, their Kickstarter had more than reached its goal. It was insane. Initially, Doyoung and Jaehyun went for a conservative $40,000 as the goalpost, but they ended up with almost _half a million_ dollars and three-thousand backers.

Ten hugged him on the day of, marking the first time that had ever occurred. When Ten released Doyoung from the hug, they looked at each other and agreed on never again.

Yuta painted them a sign that read _Almost millionaires <3\. _Doyoung reminded him that the label was not remotely accurate, the half-a-million would be split between the two of them, which would make them quarter-millionaires, and that didn't even touch on how much money they had to first pay the factory.

Yuta gave him the middle finger, but obediently flipped the sign over to write _Eat the quasi-rich <3._

Doyoung showed up at his own party late. Johnny and him had missed the bus and they ended up walking to Ten's house—Johnny's shoes were too fancy for running.

When Doyoung entered, Jaehyun was already drunk and giving a speech.

" _The Wolf of Wall Street_ has taught me two things," he slurred. "One, rich people suck and two, rich people know how to have fun." Then, someone Doyoung didn't know body-slammed into a table and broke it.

Doyoung was delighted to find that his heart didn't wrench at the sight of Jaehyun—but then Jaehyun grinned, cheeks flushed a perfect pink and his eyes, they were as warm as ever. Little half-moons of happiness.

The pain was back again but then Johnny gripped his hand, and Doyoung felt anchored. It would take more time than ten days, Doyoung told himself. He wished he could mark his calendar with a bright sticky-note: _on this day, I will no longer love Jaehyun!_ He wanted to count down the days. T-minus-thirty, T-minus-thirty-one, and so on.

Without a concrete number, Doyoung sometimes feared that there was no end.

Doyoung threw back his head and downed a shot. He was going to get _hammered._ Maybe he could be like those jellyfish. He watched a nature documentary once that said jellyfish had no brains.

Though his memories were hazy, Doyoung remembered talking to Jaehyun once during that party. They congratulated each other, hugging, and then shit-talked the other consulting club, the one that got more funding than them and wouldn't stop bragging about it during Clubs Fair. It was okay.

\---

It was early that weekend when everything went to shit.

Doyoung groped around in the dark, blindly stumbling out of bed to pick up his phone.

"Where the fuck are you?"

"Jaehyun?" Doyoung said, groggily. Jaehyun sounded panicked; Doyoung immediately tensed up when he heard Jaehyun breathe harshly, too fast. "Concentrate on my voice okay? Look around you, Jaehyun. Name five things you can see."

"Pillow," Jaehyun said. "Ten, Econ textbook, your projector, and your penguin plush." Doyoung ignored his burgeoning curiosity as to why Jaehyun was in his room, and instead focused on calming Jaehyun down from his panic attack.

"You're doing great. What about four things you can feel?"

"The mat. I'm holding my laptop. My sleep t-shirt. I'm wearing my flip-flops too."

"Three things you can hear?"

"Ten's breathing, my breathing—"

"Doyoung? What's going on?" Johnny whispered from the bed and Doyoung quickly shushed him.

"—And Johnny, I guess," Jaehyun finished.

"Two things you can smell—"

"I'm good now, Doyoung," Jaehyun interrupted. He did sound better, calmer. Almost cold. "And I guess you answered my question. I know where you are."

Jaehyun hung up.

"Fuck." Doyoung looked over at Johnny. "I think there's an emergency?" And then he ran out of Johnny's apartment, grabbing his coat along the way but still in his boxers. It was a cold spring morning, and Doyoung's bare legs were freezing as he sprinted his way to the USC campus, to his dorm, to Jaehyun.

None of the buses were running and it's an exhausting distance, both physically and mentally. Doyoung was worried out of his mind. The last time Jaehyun had a panic attack was around a year-and-a-half ago when his mother got invasive surgery.

What the fuck was going on?

Doyoung sprinted up the stairs to his room. The door was ajar and the lights were bright-yellow. Jaehyun turned around and he looked cold, almost statuesque.

"The shipping is fucked," he said. "We have more than three-thousand orders and they won't be shipped out until six months later."

"Six months?" Doyoung yelled, startling Ten awake.

"Jaehyun, you're shirtless—"

"Shut the fuck up," Doyoung interrupted, hissing at Ten. "Oh my god, we promised our customers delivery in _one month,_ this is so bad, oh my god, they're going to hate us— _shit,_ the news might _write_ about this—our company is going down the drain and we haven't even fucking started—"

He pulled out the phone from his pocket, ready to make a few calls to the factory, but then Jaehyun grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

"It's not them," Jaehyun said. "It's not the factory—we didn't fill out enough paperwork, Doyoung."

"The paperwork?" Doyoung parroted back dumbly.

"If we're going to import them into the United States, there is a _way_ longer process than we anticipated. And we won't get approved for a very long time. We should've delayed the Kickstarter campaign by _months_ if we wanted faster delivery."

" _Oh my god,_ " Doyoung said. He curled himself into a ball, placed his head into his hands. "That was my thing. I thought I covered all my fucking bases! I literally checked last week—I read so much bullshit documentation and none of those government people know how to write clearly— _no,_ this was important! I'm, I'm—This can't be right," Doyoung was hiccupping now, and there were spots in his vision. "This is a nightmare, this isn't real—I _can't_ mess up like that, I can't, I can’t—"

"Doyoung," Jaehyun said and he lowered himself to the floor too, so they were eye-level. Jaehyun's face was so familiar, it brought Doyoung comfort just to look at him. Doyoung reached out and Jaehyun complied: Jaehyun wrapped his arms around Doyoung's smaller frame, and he gently stroked his hair. Doyoung wasn't crying; he was too shocked to do so. But he relaxed in Jaehyun's hold, he melted.

In Jaehyun's embrace, Doyoung felt protected. He felt like he was a different person. Doyoung felt like someone who could make mistakes and still be loved regardless, and that was the sentiment that brought him to tears.

"Oh Doyoung," Jaehyun whispered, pulling back. Doyoung lifted his head so he can see Jaehyun again. "It'll be okay," he soothed, brushing his thumb right beneath Doyoung's left eye, clearing away the tears. He mistook Doyoung's tears of relief for those of misery, but Doyoung wasn't about to correct him, not when Jaehyun was touching his face so gently. "Don’t cry, Doyoung. We can do this together." Doyoung closed his eyes, breathing slowly, and Jaehyun softly kissed his forehead.

Just like that, Doyoung relapsed and he wanted Jaehyun like never before.

"Jaehyun," he said. Maybe he could be honest with Jaehyun too. "Jaehyun, I—"

All of a sudden, Doyoung's phone rang.

Doyoung fished it out of his pocket. _Johnny,_ it read. Jaehyun's eyes flicked down and his gaze instantly hardened; his hand shot out and ended the call.

"What was that for?" Doyoung frowned. "He's probably worried about me. I ran out of his apartment with pretty much no explanation—"

"Johnny's a problem," Jaehyun spit out.

" _What?"_

"You were doing the shipping paper work and then you started dating him—"

"That isn't because of Johnny," Doyoung snarled. "Shut the fuck up, Jaehyun. Johnny is one of the best things in my life right now so leave him out of this—"

"That's the problem! You're so distracted by Johnny that it's like you don't care about our company at all—"

"Oh my god Jaehyun you are literally insane." Doyoung was so angry that he was shaking at that point… How _dare_ Jaehyun ever question his dedication, his work ethic? As if that's not one of the only things he has going for him. "I fucking came up with the concept, I did the preliminary research, _I was the one who designed most of the Kickstarter campaign—_ And shouldn't you be happy, huh? Oh, who was the one who said I'm too much of a workaholic? It couldn't be you now, could it?" Doyoung gasped in mock surprise, covering his mouth with his palm. "Oh, but it is! Who would've thought that Jung Jaehyun is the biggest fucking hypocrite in history?" Distantly, Doyoung recognized that there were tears clouding the edges of his vision, and he fiercely wiped them away. Jaehyun still looked like a prince, even if his forehead was creased in frustration, eyes wide in surprise. "Sometimes," Doyoung said, gulping down air hysterically. "I hate you so, so much."

Jaehyun looked so broken after that, and Doyoung felt a guilty, vindictive rush of pleasure. It's what Jaehyun deserved—to feel even a fraction of pain that Doyoung had experienced, that Doyoung had experienced _because_ of Jaehyun—

"I don't want you to spend time with Johnny," Jaehyun began. His voice was a whisper, and he spoke so slowly his lips barely moved at all. "Because, Doie, I want you all to myself."

It got so quiet. Doyoung's mind is reeling and he can barely process it. No, Jaehyun must be lying, he has to be lying—but his face was so open: Jaehyun was looking at Doyoung with the kind of miserable vulnerability that could never be faked. But he _must be lying,_ because Doyoung—no, Doyoung couldn't handle the alternative.

Jaehyun wasn't interested in him, he couldn't be—otherwise, what would be the point? What would be the point of all those sleepless nights, where Doyoung cried over how Jaehyun would never love him back? What would be the point of him trying to have something special, something new with Johnny? What would be the point of Doyoung wanting to change into something softer, trying desperately to not be himself anymore—what about all those times where Doyoung hated himself and how intense he could be; how controlling he was, how he was too much, how he genuinely believed that he could never be loved—

_What was the point?_

"Doyoung, say something," Jaehyun urged desperately. "Don't just stare at me like that."

"Jaehyun, it's too late," Doyoung said, laughing maniacally. "You had your chance—oh my god, Jaehyun, why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"You keep calling me your fucking co-founder!" Jaehyun yelled. "What was I supposed to think? It was clear that you thought of me as your business partner, that's it—Like back at the banquet, you _insisted_ that our relationship was never going to be romantic!" Jaehyun then jumped, pointed a finger at Doyoung, gave up on that, and then pressed his palms flat against Doyoung's shoulders, gripping them firmly with a wild look in his eyes. Their faces were so close that Doyoung could see that Jaehyun's eyes were a warm brown. "What—Doyoung, what did you mean? What do you mean that I had my chance?"

"I overheard you with Mingyu," Doyoung said instead, ignoring the question. "Back at the start of the first semester."

"With Mingyu?" Jaehyun asked and oh god, he was confused, he had no idea what Doyoung was talking about, maybe he even forgot—and Doyoung wanted to laugh so badly. It was just so perfect that Jaehyun didn't recall the moment he broke Doyoung's heart. _That was Jaehyun_ , Doyoung thought to himself bitterly. _So kind yet so accidentally cruel._

"You and Mingyu were talking," Doyoung explained. He had largely calmed down at this point, and the world wasn't so bright anymore, no longer possessed that vivid hue. Instead, everything seemed both dark and flat. Doyoung simply didn't care anymore; all the energy was sucked out of him in one fell swoop, like the pinching of a balloon. "I was right outside the door. I think I wanted to get breakfast with you, or something." Doyoung smiled a bit. "It was just so interesting! Usually, Jaehyun, you're very soft… So, imagine my surprise, when you were speaking so assertively. Aggressively, even. I was just so terribly curious, don't blame me. I thought to myself, oh, what could Jaehyun possibly have such a firm opinion on! Oh, what could it even be?"

 _Ah,_ it looked like Jaehyun finally got where this was going—his face was so white and ruined, like one of those haunted castles on the European countryside. The fairy tale had long disappeared and in its place were skeletons, hollow-eyed and unseeing.

"And you told Mingyu that," Doyoung continued. "No, you would never, ever, _ever_ be interested in me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so..... shit hit the fan. i think there's gonna be three more chapters? because there needs to be quite a bit of resolution WHY IS THIS BECOMING SO LONG
> 
> anyway i love johnny and someone suggested johndojae and i was like aha big brain but unfortunately i dont think it works in this fic. my next fic will be johndo to compensate!!
> 
> thank you for kudos-ing, reading, and commenting!! all ur comments are amazing I LOVE TO SEE YOUR REACTIONS
> 
> cc: [parayeet](https://curiouscat.qa/parayeet)
> 
> edit: yall im sorry theres so much johndo 😭😭😭😭 theres gonna be a lot of jaedo fluff eventually its a slow burn its my ✨narrative vision✨ 😭😭 bro im sensitive im sorry if ur disappointed hhhh ill add a tag as warning??


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a week, thanks for being patient! this chapter is maybe my longest (?) in exchange for the wait

Doyoung didn't let Jaehyun explain himself; he just left his own room, storming out. Ten followed after him and they were both in their sleep clothes, roaming the halls. It was too early in the morning for any of the spaces to be open, so Ten made a quick call and they got dressed in Kun's clothes—which were too big for the both of them, but protected them from the morning chill as they walked to Ten's house.

Doyoung's phone rumbled in his pocket and Doyoung stared ardently forward—toward the trees, which were gradually regaining their colors, their healthy green; away from Ten's inquisitive gaze.

"That's Johnny, isn't it," Ten observed, and left it at that. Ten didn't make Doyoung answer Johnny's call like a good boyfriend, and Doyoung was thankful for that.

It was selfish, Doyoung recognized. To be ignoring Johnny when the only crime Johnny had ever committed was having the misfortunate to love someone as ruined as Doyoung.

But Doyoung had been carving up his insides for so long, eagerly awaiting the day that he could serve up his moldy heart on a platter, just so Jaehyun could taste his essence and finally deem it sweet. Doyoung liked to pretend to be confident and independent but, in reality, if Jaehyun asked him to change, Doyoung would've bent backwards like a willow in the wind.

Doyoung had sacrificed so much of himself at this point—and for some lies, no less—that he _deserved_ to be a little selfish. Take some time for himself.

They entered Ten's house quietly, lest they wake Ten's sleeping parents. The sun hadn't even risen yet; the clock hand pointed near the four.

Inside the house, Doyoung suddenly felt a rush of panic.

"Wait a second," he said to Ten as he flipped open his phone and quickly dialed a number. "Sicheng? Um—Jaehyun… Jaehyun and I had a really, really bad fight? Like it was really fucking bad. Yeah, he was at my room—please make sure there's someone around him and, if not, please… please take care of him? I'm sorry that this is vague but _please_ —alright, thank you."

Doyoung sighed, ending the call, and then looked up. Ten was staring at him.

"What?"

"You're—" Ten shook his head, smiling a little to himself. "You're a good person, Doyoung. Now let's go upstairs."

Ten hurried Doyoung into his room and then shut the door behind them. His room looked twice, _three_ times the size of their dorm, and that didn't even factor in Ten's walk-in closet. Three of the walls were a stark white, while the other was covered by a floor-to-ceiling mirror. The bed was tidy, presumably due to the maid.

Ten's family was fantastically wealthy, a fact that Ten preferred not to divulge but was blatantly apparent from the simple fact that they owned a house in the middle of Los Angeles, a city of sky-high property prices. Doyoung often forgot that Ten was so ridiculously rich because Ten, despite his easy-breezy and slightly shallow demeanor, moving as languidly as a cat—Ten was the hardest worker Doyoung had even known, and he had the sort of grit that read decidedly Southern in Doyoung's eyes. Southern, working-class, living check-by-check. Like home, like his hardy Arizona cousins.

But thinking of home only reminded Doyoung of Jaehyun, and that must've shown in his face—a deadly heartbreak or something equally severe, for Ten hurried over to his drawer and pulled out brushes, a palette.

Doyoung understood immediately, and he took the makeup from Ten. They both settled on the white fuzzy rug at the foot of the bed, and Doyoung focused all of his attention on applying foundation to Ten's face.

Doyoung was calmed down by habitual processes—acts that took just the right amount of concentration, enough to distract but not so much that it was stressful. And Ten knew that.

"Thank you," Doyoung said, and that was the first time he spoke in half an hour. Urged by a sort of momentum—the silence was broken now, and there was no mending it—Doyoung continued to speak.

"I've loved Jaehyun for a long time," he said. This was the second time that Doyoung said it out loud and it felt easier. "I had liked him before we even became friends, back in freshman spring. I liked how he was kind and steady when we worked on problem sets together for math. And he was so beautiful I couldn't look at him in the eye for the longest time."

"You didn't tell me this," Ten said. He was frowning, cheek creasing under the brush. "I wouldn't—I'm not like that, I wouldn't have flirted with him."

"I didn't tell anyone." Doyoung sighed. "Because when I finally came to term with my feelings, in the sophomore fall—we were becoming fast friends, at that point, because we were both on the ICC board. And then I was going over to Jaehyun's because I wanted to confess, for real." Doyoung's grip on the brush tightened before he forced himself to relax. "It was my first confession."

"But you asked me out," Ten said. "Within the first week of meeting me."

"That's not a confession _,_ " Doyoung explained. "Jaehyun was going to be my first _confession_ , like declaration of real feelings, not just a date." Doyoung traced over Ten's cheekbones, making them glow. "I don't get anxious about… about wanting to get to know people better in a romantic way. Because they're still strangers. I don't have anything on the line. They don't know my personality, right? So, if they reject me, it's not like a rejection of my very _being._ "

Doyoung paused, trying to get a hold of his thoughts as he flicked the eyeliner up into a wing. Then, he worked on the other side, evening it out.

"But, with Jaehyun—it would be," Ten pressed. "It would've felt more personal because… because he knew you."

"Jaehyun and I are a lot alike," Doyoung said. "We got so close over the course of that fall semester—we were going so fucking _quickly._ After three months of knowing each other, we made a pact to start a company together and we both _meant it._ Like, I considered him closer than Taeyong and I've known Taeyong since we were babies."

"You two are family friends, right." Ten hummed. "So Jaehyun was, what? Your soulmate?"

"In a way, I thought so." Doyoung tinted Ten's cheeks pink, reminiscing about how naïve he used to be. Jaehyun and him were even more alike back then: young-Doyoung was a softer Doyoung. A Doyoung with a clean spirit and a heart so genuine and pure, free from self-hatred. "Anyway, the point is that I went to his room to confess, but then—it's kind of embarrassing now that I think about it, like one of those stupid tv shows, because no way should something as melodramatic actually happen in real life, but it _did._ I went over to Jaehyun's with the intention to confess and then suddenly I overheard him complaining about me to Mingyu. I think Mingyu made some sort of, like, assumptive comment before, in a joking way, like _you and Doyoung are close, aren't you?_ "

Doyoung can still remember that moment in his mind's eye: he was in front of Jaehyun's door and he was hyping himself up. He actually had his phone out and his camera on, kind of like a mirror, so that he could stare into his own face and tell himself _yes, Doyoung, you've got this!_ A few positive affirmations later, Jaehyun's voice came in loud.

"Jaehyun was like, _Fuck off, Mingyu_. And then he said _God, that's gross, he's my_ friend. _Just because we're both gay doesn't mean we have to like each other, jackass. He's not my type anyway—too intense, you know? Which is good when we work together, but I'd never date him."_

"You memorized what he said word-for-word?"

"Yeah."

"That's… that's really unhealthy."

"Like you wouldn't memorize it." Doyoung scoffed. "Ten, you internalize things too, don't pretend any different."

"Wrong." Ten smiled beatifically. "I'm actually a god and no one can hurt me."

Doyoung groaned but he really did enjoy Ten's ridiculous shenanigans. Ten was 60% water and 40% bravado.

"Besides, we know that he was lying now, right?" Ten pointed out.

"I think he just changed his mind," Doyoung said. "He… You weren't there, but Jaehyun said that with _a lot_ of conviction."

Doyoung reflected back on the moment again, though it hurt. Jaehyun was a soft person, so it was surprising to hear that much gravel in his voice, dark and heated. Gone was the gentle man that Doyoung fell in love with; instead, Jaehyun was almost violent in the way he spoke, like he would very much like to punch Mingyu in the fucking face.

The _conviction._ That's what really stuck with Doyoung. This moment was the first time that Doyoung ever seen Jaehyun snap and of course it was when Jaehyun was proclaiming that Jaehyun could never love someone as _intense_ as Doyoung.

Plus, Jaehyun was too genuine to be that skilled of a liar; he was the kind of person who wore his heart on his sleeve. And now that Doyoung knew _everything,_ he could see that Jaehyun's weirdness around Johnny was totally because of jealousy, and not out of some stupid school rivalry. It was crazy how obvious things could look in hindsight, once the veil was lifted.

"So, if he changed," Ten said. "And you… you still have feelings for him, then—"

"We're not getting back together," Doyoung said, voice hard. "After I calm down, I'm going to apologize to Johnny, my _boyfriend,_ for not returning his calls and that's that."

"But you love Jaehyun?"

"That's not how relationships work. It's not as easy as if two people are interested in each other, they should be together. I feel like, even if Jaehyun and I weren't even in a proper relationship, my feelings were really poisonous to me. Like, I was trying to mold myself into someone that I wasn't because I believed that would be the only way for _anyone,_ not just Jaehyun, to like me back. I _like_ how intense I am, that I really go for things and I care so much. But Jaehyun had halfway convinced me to change something integral to myself from just one side comment, you know?

"I get that Jaehyun likes me back now. But I want to be a Doyoung that is proud of himself even _without_ Jaehyun's love."

\---

Doyoung took the bus to Johnny's apartment and, on the way there, it finally registered with him that _holy shit,_ his fucking company was about to go under.

So, when he apologized for leaving suddenly and then Johnny kissed him in forgiveness, Doyoung just _melted._ He could already feel himself entering a submissive haze. He was Johnny's now, not a person with very real and dire responsibilities.

Doyoung didn't want to stress Johnny out—he described all of the events of that morning as a "minor school-related emergency, Jaehyun's okay." Once Doyoung was ready to face his problems again, hopefully after a good fucking, he'd tell Johnny everything.

But for now, Doyoung bucked his hips against Johnny's, already hard. Johnny grinned in that handsome way of his.

"Baby, what's gotten into you?" Johnny gripped at his hips and Doyoung keened loudly, grinding harder against Johnny's leg. Johnny stared at him, a tad surprised, and then grinned wider. "My needy baby just wants someone to take care of him, hm?"

Doyoung licked up the side of Johnny's neck in agreement, already panting. His skin felt red-hot.

"No clothes," he whined, scratching at the back of Johnny's t-shirt. Johnny was still in his pajamas so at least the pants were already off. "Please, please, _please._ "

Johnny complied easily, tossing off his t-shirt, and then his boxers came off.

"I'll give you what you need," Johnny started, arms snaking around Doyoung's waist, but Doyoung was already sinking down to his knees. "I thought you didn't like giving blowjobs—" Johnny tried to speak again, but then his words pinched off into a moan when Doyoung's mouth stretched obscenely around his cock.

Johnny looked overwhelmed. Doyoung rolled his eyes.

"Use my mouth," he purred, drooling over the tip. "And start talking."

Johnny grabbed Doyoung's head and he began to face-fuck Doyoung.

"You're so good for me," Johnny praised. "So pretty. Taking my cock so well." Johnny thrusted a few times and then backed away, holding his length in hand. Doyoung stared back up at him, tongue lolling out and whining from the loss. Johnny stuck his fingers into Doyoung's mouth and Doyoung sucked on them gratefully.

"Both of your holes are so needy," Johnny cooed. He then pulled his fingers out and before Doyoung could beg, Johnny's cock slapped his face. Doyoung gasped; his face felt so wet, a mix of drool and pre-come.

Doyoung frowned cutely, tilting his mouth to try to catch Johnny's cock in his mouth again, but Johnny's cock just hit him in the cheek again with a meaty _thwack._ Doyoung teared up a little and Johnny patted his cheek.

"My pretty cock-hungry slut." Johnny held his cock still and Doyoung perked up, mouth closing around the length again, eyes closing in pleasure. "Such a messy baby, hm? Drooling everywhere with your wet mouth."

"I-I'm sorry," Doyoung cried and Johnny gently traced his cheek.

"It's not your fault, baby," Johnny said. "My cock just feels too good, doesn't it?"

" _So good._ " Doyoung started rubbing himself against Johnny's leg, chasing his release. He felt blissed out, sucking hard on Johnny's cock, yet still—

Suddenly, it was _Jaehyun_ who was holding his face in a tight grip. He was panting, his wavy hair falling into his dark eyes, cock heavy in Doyoung's mouth. His ears were pink and he stumbled adorably around the dirty talk, and Doyoung's heart soared—

Doyoung squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed more of Johnny's cock, trying to stifle the image of Jaehyun's lustful gaze. His head bobbed up and down, Johnny breathing hard above him. The floor was hard beneath his knees.

He looked back up at Johnny, back in the moment. Johnny was so fucking hot, looking at Doyoung with such intent, chest-heaving. Doyoung choked a little when Johnny jerked his hips harshly forward.

Doyoung grinded harder against Johnny's leg like he was in heat.

"Just _look_ at you," Johnny growled. "Rubbing yourself against me like a dumb whore. Just my pretty toy, good for nothing but sucking—"

Doyoung bucked against Johnny's hands, tapping four times against Johnny's leg. Johnny let go immediately—

"August, August, August," Doyoung sobbed. He bent forward, curling up at Johnny's feet. He wiped away at his face. He was _useless, worthless, good for nothing…_ Johnny sat down as well and hugged Doyoung.

"I'm sorry," Doyoung said. "I just couldn't take it—"

"There's nothing to apologize for, baby," Johnny said. "You're perfect, Doyoung, there's nothing wrong with using the safe word. That's why it exists, baby. You're so good to me, _so_ good, I love you—"

" _Why?"_ Doyoung screamed, head bowing into Johnny's lap. "Why do you love me? I can't do anything right! I'm so _useless_ and a _failure_ a-and… You're the only reason, Johnny, you're the only reason why I'm okay, I am nothing without your love—"

"You're beautiful, Doyoung," Johnny said, sincerely, rubbing circles into his back. "Not just in appearance, but also in the way you think: you work _so hard,_ baby, and it's such a gift to watch you achieve your dreams. Doyoung, you're a _co-founder_ of a successful company, even, you're incredible—"

"I _lied,_ " Doyoung whispered. "I _lied_ about the emergency, I—Johnny, we had a shipping issue a-and… the sheets aren't coming in until four or five months after we promised. It's all over."

Johnny just held him tighter.

"Even then," Johnny said. "You still deserve love, okay? You _allowed_ to make mistakes."

"Not really," Doyoung sniffed. "That's why I owe you, Johnny." Doyoung looked up at Johnny, his eyes glimmering. "I really would be nothing without you."

Doyoung smiled, kissing Johnny softly on the cheek and giggling into his chest.

But Johnny's eyes were sad.

\---

Doyoung awoke in Johnny's bed. He had fell asleep in Johnny's arms, most likely, and Johnny must've carried him to the bed.

"Doyoung."

Doyoung perked up, turning around to the side. Johnny was sitting beside him, fully-dressed and freshly showered. Giddy, Doyoung pounced onto him, maneuvering their bodies so that Doyoung was pinning Johnny down onto the bed, Johnny's body caged between his knees.

Doyoung leaned down and softly kissed his cheek.

"Thank you, Johnny," Doyoung whispered, lips trailing up the side of Johnny's neck. Johnny's breath stuttered and Doyoung let out a hum, pleased. "You're too good to me—"

"Doyoung," Johnny said and then placed a palm flat against Doyoung's chest, pushing him back up, and then Johnny sat up as well. "I—" Johnny paused, looking away. "I—" he tried again, but then was interrupted; Doyoung looped his arms around Johnny's neck and brought his boyfriend close for another kiss.

"Doyoung!" Johnny pulled away. "Let me talk. Please."

"Alright," Doyoung giggled, confused. "But after that, let's make-out—"

"Doyoung, I'm breaking up with you."

All the air rushed out of the room and suddenly, Doyoung couldn't breathe. Did he hear that right?

"You're… you're—What did I do wrong?" Doyoung asked, panicked. "Am I too clingy, because I could give you space, or do I talk too much, because I can listen more—I won't even speak, Johnny, I'm sorry—"

"You didn't do anything wrong," Johnny said. "I just think—"

"Is it because I used the safe-word? I'm sorry that I ruined that moment, never again—"

" _No,_ " Johnny growled and Doyoung jumped a little, scared. Johnny's eyes softened and then he brushed Doyoung's bangs out of his eyes. "Doyoung, promise me that you _will_ safe-word whenever you feel uncomfortable, okay?"

"I promise," Doyoung said, petulantly. "Now what's the problem?"

"Now promise me that you won't let anyone push you into an uncomfortable situation just because you're afraid of disappointing them."

"I _promise_." Doyoung tried to push his irritation down, though he desperately wanted to know what the fuck was going on—couldn't Johnny just spit it out already… but he knew that Johnny was just trying to look out for him. "I promise," he repeated, more sincerely this time.

"Thank you."

"Then why are you breaking up with me?"

"Doyoung, you know I love you, right?"

"Yeah." Doyoung smiled dopily. "And I'm so grateful for it—Wait, then why are you breaking up with me?"

"Loving you means that I want the best for you," Johnny said. "And Doyoung, it's extremely unhealthy that you depend on our relationship for your sense of self-worth." Johnny sighed. "It's hard for me to do this, but you really do need time to work on yourself. I don't think you're ready to have a boyfriend yet, not until you realize that you're already valuable, all on your own, without my validation."

Johnny got up from the bed and Doyoung, in shock, watched him move to the door.

"Johnny, please, can't we talk about this—" Doyoung protested, scrambling up off the bed. "You can't just _leave_ —"

"This is what's best, we _have_ to break up." Johnny was crying, Doyoung realized. Doyoung froze; he had never seen Johnny cry before. "If I stay, I'll just let you convince me otherwise, and I love you too much for that—we really shouldn't see each other for a while—"

The door swung open then shut, and Johnny was gone from his life.

Doyoung stared at the wall for a few minutes, still processing what just happened. Then, he shook himself out of it and sprinted toward the door, intent on chasing after Johnny outside.

When he opened the door, there was a person standing on the other side and Doyoung's hopes lifted for a second, before he realized it was Taeyong, and then Doyoung was crashing back down, pitching forward into Taeyong's chest, legs shaking.

"Johnny called me," Taeyong said. "To make sure you were okay after the break-up."

\---

The first thing Taeyong did was let Doyoung cry it out, passing him the tissues and then hugging him tightly. Eventually, Doyoung's sobs lessened to slight sniffing and he fell into the bed, rolling onto his back. He stared at the ceiling, then fished his phone out from his pocket—

The second thing Taeyong did was confiscate Doyoung's phone.

"I heard it from Ten," Taeyong said. "You _can't_ call Jaehyun and go back to him or whatever."

"I wasn't going to!" Doyoung protested. "I was just going to… ask him how it was going, you know. Ask what he's up to."

"Jesus Christ, Doyoung." Taeyong shook his head. "You literally just told Ten that you wanted to be someone who was happy without Jaehyun's love and _then_ Johnny told you that your self-worth can't come from a relationship! How stupid can you be?"

"I'm not stupid," Doyoung mumbled, grabbing a pillow and then holding it against his chest. "I have a 4.0."

"Then _act_ like it."

"Fine." Doyoung sighed. "Tomorrow, I'm going to meet up with Jaehyun and _not_ beg him to have me; instead, we're going to be professionals and figure out the shipping issue, which I already have some ideas on—first, we're going to file the necessary paper work immediately, and then I'm going to do _a lot_ of research to see if we can use any legal loopholes to speed up the federal-approval-process—also, we should reach out to our customers, let them know about the problem immediately and maybe send them some goodies in apology—and of course we can't forget about—"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know if u think this needs any further warnings. doyoung did use the safe-word but johnny immediately stopped so i didn't tag it, plus i didn't want to give up any of the plot--still, i totally understand if you'd like a content warning!
> 
> next, i am happy to tell you that i am SURE i will finish the final three updates in ten days. so get ready, because i will keep them coming
> 
> as always, thank you for reading, kudos-ing, and commenting!! i love seeing ur reactions
> 
> please scream at me about this fic or ANY doyoung ship on [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/parayeet) i love it!


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